Eastside Punks Podcast

I had the pleasure of spending some time wit Emma Arakelyan about her secret to success in life and in business. Emma is a management consulting executive, author, with economist background, entrepreneur, philanthropist, coach and professor. Emma Arakelyan is the author of The Business Caring Formula. About her book in her own words: “I wrote this book to answer that question and with you in mind to share my best practices in building productive and successful leaders based on my over 20 years in leadership positions at top global companies. If you are interested in making a change or caring for others, then this formula is for you and it will put you on the fast track to becoming a caring leader and changing your and others’ lives. The business caring Formula spotlights businesses because they make up one of the largest social environments in the world, and where some of us may spend even more time than with our own families. Organizations are where you continually engage with your peers, systems, and processes that too often are not working efficiently, yet require you to contribute to an antiquated business model. Therefore, we need to address what is wrong and fix it so that we can improve the world we live in. Let’s start. The biggest issue is how the society today measures success. Most organizations value the numbers driving revenue, profits and the bottom line. Talent is recognized by corporations and businesses, but it is not part of the true value calculation model. Now imagine turning that model around – where YOU with genuine caring can redirect how corporations work to foster socially invested talent by leveraging their full potential and bringing their value into the company’s profit calculation numbers. The Business Caring Formula create a lifestyle. It fosters inclusivity and action-driven leadership while taking others with you on your caring leader journey. It starts with a call to action. I’m asking you to be a caring leader in everything you do and wherever you go, and that includes how you interact with your personal and work- related relationships. You will learn from the book how to integrate the key ingredients – steps for building The Business Caring Formula into your leadership style. It includes: • How to be a Business Family Builder • How to Become the Change engine to create exceptions to the rule that is needed for real progress and success • How to develop yourself as a Responsible Leader • How to make sure you are an Inclusive Leader dedicated to building collaborative and proactive teams • How to stay true to your mission and values by working as a Passionate Leader • How you can engage and empower others by being a Humorous Leader • Last but not least, how success and happiness can be yours as you take others with you on your journey as a Positive Leader in the world of business.” Emma Arakelyan If you would like to find out more about Emma, please visit her website: https://emmaarakelyan.com/

My home country of Venezuela as many of you may know, has been going through the worst political, socio-economic crisis in its history. The Venezuelan people have been subjected to the cruelest dictatorship in the history of Latin America that has resulted with the exodus of almost five million Venezuelans seeking new opportunities for themselves and their families abroad. .For the longest time I’ve been wanting to interview Eduardo Lugo., the co-founder of SOS Venezuela NY. A brave and young Venezuelan activist seeking to bring awareness to the current situation in Venezuela. I Finally got to do it right before Xmas.The Venezuelan case is complex and can’t be covered in just one hour conversation that’s for sure. But I do hope that my listeners can get a sense of the Venezuelan situation through this interview. and how it affects the entire American continent.About SOS Venezuela:NYDevoted to creating effective and result oriented campaigns to raise awareness about the state of Human Rights in Venezuela.

Greta Quispe is a SAG/AFTRA actress of Peruvian descent who was raised in Brooklyn, NY. Ms. Quispe has studied at The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute as well as auditioned for and personally selected to study with T. Schreiber at his advanced technique for actors classes at T. Schreiber's Studio and Theatre in New York City. 

Roman Rojas of Eastside Punks was traveling and happen to come across Cristian Punlay. Cristian is an up and coming singer/songwriter from Peru living in the United States. His sound is reminds us of The Beattes. Listen to the interview to learn more about how his music came to be and we’ll play a couple of his songs!

In 2010 my close friend Danilo Alvarez was on vacation with his ex-girlfriend Geraldine in Cali, Colombia. One night on their Colombian vacation the couple made a fateful decision that led to their kidnapping. Danilo shares with us this most unusual story that left him marked forever. Kidnapping used to be common for guerrillas and criminals to extort people. ... At least 174 people were kidnapped in 2018, not even a fraction of the 3,600 victims of kidnapping made in the year 2000, whenColombia's armed conflict was at its most violent.

Matt is a keyboardist/guitar player/songwriter that is currently playing with iconic acts Blondie and Cindy Lauper both on tour and in the studio. Matt has also co-written hit songs for Blondie including “What I Heard” and “A Rose by Any Name”. He has also written for RuPaul, Raja, and Manila Luzon; other acts he's toured with include Boy George, Tony Bennett, Ashford and Simpson, Psychic TV, and Sharon Needles, as well as acting as Assistant Music Director for Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway and the Hedwig National US Tour.

Roman Rojas of the Eastside Punks Podcast stopped by Eric Kurimski’s house in New York City to talk for a while and hear him play. Eric is a guitarrist that has spent years perfecting and studying Afro Peruvian music. "The spectacular playing and skillful blend of acoustic and electric tones bring authority to this brilliant co-mingling of (jazz and Afro Peruvian) traditions that are, after all, rooted in the same musical heritage."  - Guitar Player Magazine (Jan '09)  "...2008 will be remembered as the year that Latin Jazz officially stepped outside the authority of Afro-Cuban and Brazilian rhythms, and leading the charge is Eric Kurimski’s outstanding Afro- Peruvian Jazz album Réplica."  - Latin Jazz Corner  "The true essence of the Peruvian Cajon (box) walks hand and hand with the modern Jazz Guitar through the streets of New York."  - Rafael Santa Cruz (www.cajonperuano.org)  “...elaborate guitar work that goes beyond the usual accompaniment found in many Afro- Peruvian bands.”  - Angel Romero (www.worldmusiccentral.org) 

I had the pleasure of sitting down and having a beautiful conversation with Robert Rose, Raw Travel TV’s creator and on air talent.On Raw Travel the camera follows Executive Producer and Host, Robert Rose, as he navigates through the unpredictable realm of adventurous travel to off the beaten path locations all over the world. Raw Travel invites viewers to get rid of their fears, break out their passports and take a journey to “meet the neighbors”. No celebrities, no gimmicks, silly contests or games, just ordinary people having trans-formative, life changing encounters through thoughtful, real and raw travel.

I had the pleasure of sitting down and having a beautiful conversation with Robert Rose, Raw Travel TV’s creator and on air talent.On Raw Travel the camera follows Executive Producer and Host, Robert Rose, as he navigates through the unpredictable realm of adventurous travel to off the beaten path locations all over the world. Raw Travel invites viewers to get rid of their fears, break out their passports and take a journey to “meet the neighbors”. No celebrities, no gimmicks, silly contests or games, just ordinary people having trans-formative, life changing encounters through thoughtful, real and raw travel.

Isabela Raygoza is a music journalist and musician. She’s also a contributor for Rolling Stone Magazine, Remezcla, the Latin Grammys and is currently working for Soundcloud in New York City.

28 year old percussionist Jonathan Gomez was born in Bogota, Colombia. There is no question as to why he has been able to take traditional Colombian music to popular venues around the US. His musical career began at the age of 5 at “Orquesta Sinfonica Juvenil de Colombia” then continued at the “Pontificia Universidad Javeriana” where he gained a better understanding of world music.He has performed in renown festivals such as Globalfest, Music of Colors (Detroit) and SXSW (Austin, TX) among others. He has also participated in the first Colombian musical presented at the Lincoln Center, “La Mas Grande Historia Jamas Cantada” and earned a Grammy Award with the Arturo O’farrill & his Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra. Jonathan has an extensive career in the salsa scene in Colombia as part of “La Real Charanga”, recording two productions and taking first place in “Salsa al Parque” and "Jazz al Parque”. He has had the opportunity of playing and recording with many well-known artists such as Luisito Carrión, Luis Felipe Gonzalez, Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, Kader Japonaise & Shwekey to name a few. Jonathan currently resides in New York City.

Trina Bardusco is an American-Venezuelan producer and director with fifteen years’ experience translating global culture into award-winning content for American audiences. She is passionate about innovative storytelling, championing multiculturalism and aspirational content for women. Trina has written, directed, produced and or co-hosted a total of nine web series for and about women in both English and Spanish, including 500+ videos for Yahoo en Español that were sponsored by Procter & Gamble. An experienced bilingual brand liaison for agencies, and show sponsors, she understands the art of authentic contextual integration into US Hispanic and global programs.

Isabela Raygoza is a music journalist and musician. She’s also a contributor for Rolling Stone Magazine, Remezcla, the Latin Grammys and different music streaming services. Isabella stopped by our studios and talked about the impact of Latin Music in 2018 in the US market. We also counted down Rolling Stone Magazine’s 10 Best Latin Albums of 2018 of which she was one of the contributing writers. We also talked about future trends and influential artists for 2019.

Grammy award winning engineer and musician Andy Averbuch stopped by our NYC studios to talk about his career in the music industry. Andy is currently working with Grammy award winners Mariachi Flor De Toloache and is also the co-founder of the virtual reality company Endless Riff. We talked about his recent trip to Uruguay to collaborate with celebrated South American band No Te Va A Gustar. Draco Rosa, Jorge Drexler among other iconic Latin American artists. We also spoke about his experience working with musician/producer Camilo Lara founder of Mexican Institute Of Sound who has been involved in projects such as the Pixar movie Koko and the film Birdman.

On this episode of the East Side Punks podcast music producers Roman Rojas and Fran Cathcart talk about musicians in the New York City subway. They also re-visit an interview of music producer Jamie Propp and his record Subplay that featured some of the best performers of the New York City subway. We also listened to a couple of songs played live by subway performer Mariko Morimoto.

On this episode of the Eastside Punks podcast we interviewed primatologist/rock n’ roll photographer Tracy Ketcher. After working for nearly eight years in primatology and extensive travel, Tracy Ketcher has generated a photographic catalog that is both eclectic as well as diverse.  Having directly cared for gorillas (including Koko the gorilla) housed in foundations throughout the western world, Tracy was able to capture striking images of one of our nearest genetic neighbors.  Now Tracy has focused her lens on a different kind of animal: the Rock Star.

On this episode of the Eastside Punks Podcast we talk about the process of what it takes to produce music for advertising. We also look back at an interview of veteran creative director Danilo Alvarez and his experience producing music for tv commercials. Some of the agencies Danilo has worked for include: Yates World Wide, Disney’s Yellow Shoes, Accent Marketing, Young & Rubicam, and D Exposito & Partners. Danilo is currently creative director at Discovery Channel in New York City.

Juan Carlos Barguil is a veteran music publisher and partner in the digital record label/publisher Sunflower Entertainment. In his years in music publishing he has worked with some of the biggest innovators in the music industry. Juan Carlos still runs Sunflower Entertainment with Jamar Chess in partnership with Spirit Music, one of the largest independent music publishers in the US.

2017 Latin Grammy winner Mireya Ramos of Mariachi Flor De Toloache came by the studio to co-write a song with Roman Rojas and Fran Cathcart of the Eastside Punks. We took this opportunity to interview her for our podcast.

On this episode of the Eastside Punks Podcast Roman Rojas and Fran Cathcart reverse rolls, from interviewers to interviewees! Veteran music business manager Abner O. Monegro guest hosts the Eastside Punks Podcast and interviews Roman and Fran. 

Music producer/composer Roman Rojas and singer songwriter Sharin Toribio of www.eastsidepunks.com go back in time to a 2007 interview with legendary Grammy Award winning musician/composer/arranger John Benitez. They also listen and react to some of the commercial music Roman Rojas produced a few years ago with John Benitez and talk about his incredible contribution to the arts. 

Roman Rojas of Eastsidepunks had an amazing conversation with singer/songwriter Sharin Toribio.  A little about Sharin.  Tampa, Florida native and student vocalist Sharin Toribio began performing at age six, composing at age nine, and earning awards and accolades in her teens. When she was 20, she was diagnosed with stage IV non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She survived seven months of chemotherapy and clinical trials and today is cancer-free. Shortly after Toribio recovered, she decided to study music full-time and in 2009 she enrolled at Berklee, where she has been a voice principal and where she will graduate this week with a degree in music business/management. Her musical influences come from country music, Latin pop, and gospel music, and she cites several vocalists as models, including Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Shania Twain, Lauryn Hill, Juan Luis Guerra, and Martina McBride. She released an EP, Quiero, in December 2011. Toribio has a song featured on the college’s latest release, Music Production and Engineering Projects 2013, which features 18 tracks recorded by Berklee students at the college recording complex at 136 Massachusetts Avenue. Download more music and read the liner notes from the disc at Bandcamp.

We had the pleasure of interviewing this amazing up and coming indie artist in our New York City studios.  About Karolina Rose: Karolina Rose is a Polish-American singer-songwriter based in Brooklyn, NYC. She was born and raised in Philadelphia to Polish parents and is musically inspired by Kate Bush, Debbie Harry and Madonna. Karolina made the decision to quit her career in the investment industry last year in order to commit to making music her full-time profession.

Singing as a portrait with Steven Tyler on a Skittles commercial, winning the Abe Olman Scholarship, playing Peter Parker on an off Broadway show in New York City, writing the theme song for one of Telemundo Deportes World Cup 2018 shows, collaborating with an ex FC Barcelona soccer superstar on a song, Travis Nilan seems to do it all! We sat down with Travis who happens to be one of our producers/writers here at Eastside Punks and talked about his career in music. 

Even before Mariko Morimoto was handed her first acoustic guitar at 15, she knew she wanted to pursue music. Although she spent the first five years of her life in Japan, Mariko grew up in the suburbs of Boston, where she was lured and encouraged by the local music scene. She began actively songwriting during her high school years, and her took her aspirations to New York soon thereafter. 

On this episode of Eastside Punks Podcast music producer Roman Rojas and music business manager Abner Monegro talked to Max Bolotov, VR Account Director and Executive Producer at Koncept VR In New York City. KVR is one of the top virtual reality production companies in New York. Some of their clients include: Conde Nast Traveler, Broadway's Aladdin, Broadway's School Of Rock, Cavit Wines, Covia, New York Times, Jay Leno's Garate among others. 

We sat down with musician Adam Stoler and we talked about his life on the road and life experiences that have shaped his music.

Eastside Punks #5 - Boris Muñoz, Opinion Editor at New York Times Españ

David Swinson began his career at the height of the punk rock movement in the early 1980s. After attending California State University as a film major, he booked and promoted punk rock and alternative music at Fender’s Ballroom, Melody Dance Center and Bogart’s Nightclub in Long Beach, California. Swinson also started a Wednesday night evening of conversation and spoken word at Bogart’s with luminaries such as Hunter S. Thompson, Dr. Timothy Leary, John Waters and Jim Carroll. After several years of booking, promoting, as well as developing lasting relationships with such people as Timothy Leary and Hunter S. Thompson, it was a natural segue to develop and co-produce Sound Bites from the Counter Culture for Atlantic Records in 1990. This spoken-word compilation featured writers, orators and politicians, including Thompson, Leary, Carroll, Abbie Hoffman, and Eugene McCarthy. Billboard called the album “essential listening.” In 1990, while having drinks with Timothy Leary and friend Bill Stankey, an idea for an offbeat buddy film entitled “Roadside Prophets” was conceived. The film eventually found a home with FineLine Features and was distributed theatrically by New Line Cinema. The film starred John Doe (of the band X) and Adam Horovitz (of the Beastie Boys) and featured Timothy Leary, John Cusack, David Carradine and Arlo Guthrie. Over the past few years, “Roadside Prophets” has become a cult classic among young viewers. In 1994, Swinson pursued another passion – law enforcement. He returned to his home base of Washington DC, where he joined the Metropolitan Police Department. Swinson began his career as a police officer in uniform. He was then assigned to the Gun Recovery Unit as a tactical officer. Shortly after that, Swinson was assigned as a plainclothes/undercover officer, targeting narcotics and crimes in progress. In 1998, Swinson was assigned to the Third District Detectives Office as an investigator, where he covered offenses ranging from burglary and armed robbery to homicide. In 2000, he was promoted to detective and was eventually assigned to the department’s Special Investigations Bureau/Major Crimes, and was the lead investigator in the District of Columbia for investigating serial burglaries, high profile cases and organized criminal operations related to narco-fencing. Swinson is a highly decorated member of the Metropolitan Police Department, having received numerous awards including the department’s prestigious Detective of the Year Award for 2003; Meritorious Service Medals for significant, outstanding and sustained achievements; Achievement Medals of Honor for a significant case investigation and several Department of Justice, United States Attorney’s Annual Law Enforcement Awards for significant case investigations. He has also received two major awards from Target Corporation for outstanding community service.

In the wake of Anthony ourdain's unexpected passing we are dedicating this episode to him and his work.  We sat down and talked to Robert Rose the producer, on camera talent and creator of the TV show Raw Travel TV.  Raw Travel is a grass roots, independently produced syndicated television series that is currently in its 4th Season and can be viewed in the United States on 160 broadcast affiliates.  The show currently ranks as the #1 rated authentic travel show on commercial TV in the United States.  Raw Travel is unique in that it is independently produced and financed and focuses on socially conscious travel. It showcases the growing wave of socially and environmentally conscious travel, while celebrating the self-discovery that authentic travel and experience among other cultures can bring. The show incorporates eco-tourism, voluntourism (traveling volunteers), adventure sports, underground music, authentic culture, food, tradition and much more. Executive Producer and Host, Robert Rose, navigates through an unpredictable world of travel to locations off the beaten path. In the process Rob & crew connect with a variety of colorful locals. Raw Travel invites viewers to get rid of their fears, break out their passports and take a journey to “meet the neighbors.” Real, ordinary people having trans-formative, life changing experiences through thoughtful, authentic and raw travel.

On October 11th, 2014 musician and educator Ann Ruckert passed away. Her legacy will live for a long time in the lives of everybody she touched. Ann was a professional session singer, music coordinator, and educator. For over twenty years she served on the board of Jazzmobile, an educational outreach program that brings jazz concerts into neighborhoods worldwide. In conjunction with the Jazz Foundation of America, she initiated a program to send musical instruments to New Orleans musicians whose homes were decimated by Katrina. For the past dozen years, Ann led a monthly songwriters' circle at the Red Lion in Greenwich Village. Ann was also a staunch patron of civil rights causes. She participated in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery March and was a founding sponsor of the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation. She also served as a NARAS governor for many years in New York City and was involved in the production of many Grammy shows.

A Mexican-American journalist and music critic with seven years of progressive advancement in the media and entertainment industry. Has served as an editor, curator and writer for online and print publications such as Remezcla, MTV Iggy, Rolling Stone, Univision, Noisey, and music streaming services like Google Play and Apple Music. Specializes in Latin music and rock, both niche/regional and mainstream.