Podcast appearances and mentions of howard finster

The Talking Heads is known as one of the more quirky bands of the 70's and 80's, and terribly innovative in their approach to both music and performance.  Consisting of Tina Weymouth on bass, Chris Frantz on drums, Jerry Harrison on keyboards and guitar, and fronted by David Byrne on vocals and guitar, the Talking Heads helped to shape the landscape of alternative and new wave rock through the 80's and 90's.  They really hit mainstream consciousness with their fifth album called "Speaking in Tongues" in 1983.  They followed this up with the live album "Stop Making Sense," which showcased the elaborate stage setups and their visual presence, complete with Byrne's iconic "big suit" fashion wear.Little Creatures was their sixth studio album and the best selling album of the group's career.  The Talking Heads toned down their experimental tendencies on this one in favor of a more stripped-down, accessible approach.  While there are still elements of art music and new wave present in the tracks, they play a more whimsical role.  The songs blend in pop, folk, and country influences as well, giving the album a bright, catchy feel in addition to the wit and quirkiness for which the group was known.The album cover was created by artist Howard Finster, and incorporates themes of Americana and everyday life.  This complemented the songs well, and was selected by Rolling Sone magazine as the album cover of the year.The group would go on to produce two more studio albums before disbanding in 1991.  They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.Show co-founder Brian Dickhute is back to present this album in Bruce's absence for today's podcast.  The Lady Don't MindThere's a certain amount of weirdness that is difficult to explain in the lyrics of just about every Talking Heads song, and this is no exception.  This reggae-tinged song talks about a lady who is hard to pin down or figure out.  "Last time she jumped out the window, well, she only turned and smiled.  You might think she would say something, but you'd have to wait a while."  Perfect WorldWhile most songs were written by David Byrne, this one features lyrics composed years earlier by drummer Chris Frantz.  It is a deeper cut, and a mini-love story. Stay Up LateThis track was the fourth single released from the album.  It is a song about Byrne's sister's baby, and describes an adult keeping the baby up late despite the consequences, just to have fun and enjoy this new life.  Road to NowhereThis song was released as a single, and went to number 25 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.  Byrne describes it as "a song that presented a resigned, even joyful look at doom."  The gospel choir that leads off the track was added after the song was concluded to complete what is essentially a two-chord song. ENTERTAINMENT TRACK:Soul Finger by the Bar-Kays (from the motion picture Spies Like Us)Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd star in this spy comedy where novice spies are sent into the Soviet Union.STAFF PICKS:West End Girls by Pet Shop BoysLynch starts the staff picks with a song about class and pressures of city life in London, inspired by a T.S. Eliot poem.  It was released twice as a single, once in April 1984 when it became a club hit, and this version as a re-recorded single in October 1985.  It went to number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.It's Not Love by DokkenWayne takes us in a more hair metal direction with a head banger tune from Dokken's third album, "Under Lock and Key."  This was the third single released from the album.  The video contains scenes where the band is playing from a flat bed truck, and was actually recorded on the road.  They received several tickets during the process, despite having permission to film.Magic Power by TriumphRob features a Canadian power trio from their live double album, “Stages.”  Originally recorded on their studio album, “Allied Forces,” the song describes the healing power of music.  It is one of the group's signature songs, and the live  format gives a good sense of the band's chemistry on stage.Tonight She Comes by The CarsBrian closes out the staff picks with a previously unreleased song from the Cars' Greatest Hits album, released in October 1985.  Ric Ocasek wrote the song, and originally intended it for his solo album, but brought it to the group instead.   It was their fourth and last single to be a top 10 hit. NOVELTY TRACK:Strokin' by Clarence CarterWe find out how Clarence Carter makes love in this concluding track from this week's podcast.   Thanks for listening to “What the Riff?!?” NOTE: To adjust the loudness of the music or voices, you may adjust the balance on your device. VOICES are stronger in the LEFT channel, and MUSIC is stronger on the RIGHT channel.Please follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/whattheriffpodcast/, and message or email us with what you'd like to hear, what you think of the show, and any rock-worthy memes we can share.Of course we'd love for you to rate the show in your podcast platform!**NOTE: What the Riff?!? does not own the rights to any of these songs and we neither sell, nor profit from them. We share them so you can learn about them and purchase them for your own collections.

The year 1985 would find the band R.E.M. in transition between college band success and the mainstream powerhouse they were to become in future years.  The quartet of Michael Stipe on vocals, Mike Mills on bass and vocals, Peter Buck on guitar, and Bill Berry on percussion and backing vocals were moving towards a greater variety of instrumentation and a bit more experimentation with their third studio album, Fables of the Reconstruction.The album actually has two names, as "Fables of the Reconstruction" was the name if you held the cassette or album with one side up, and if you flipped it over the name appeared as "Reconstruction of the Fables."  The suggestion of the name "Reconstruction" came from Michael Stipes' father who was a carpenter.  It is also a loaded term in the American South from which the Athens, Georgia band hails —  “Reconstruction” is the period of time immediately following the American Civil War when the South was being brought back into the Union.  The songs on the album have a darker sound than earlier works, and the lyrics draw from Southern Gothic works.  This was the first album recorded outside the U.S., as the band traveled to London to work at Livingston Studios with producer Joe Boyd.While the singles from the album would not be considered hits in the United States, the album reached number 28 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and number 35 on the UK Albums Chart.  It would feature two singles, “Driver 8' and“Can't Get There from Here,” which would become well known over time.Rob brings us this transitional album for today's podcastDriver 8The second single released from the album refers to the Southern Crescent train line.  It ran under the Southern Railway until 1979 when Amtrak bought them out, and continues as the Amtrak Crescent today.  “And the train conductor says take a break, Driver 8.”Green Grow the RushesThis deeper cut  was written as a pact between Michael Stipe and Natalie Merchant of 10,000 Maniacs, relating to the poor treatment of indigenous peoples and migrant workers.  “Green grow the rushes, go.  The compass points the workers home.”Maps and LegendsInspired by preacher and Southern folk artist Howard Finster, this song uses the reading of a map as a metaphor for reading a person.  Like the map reveals stories in little symbols on it, people are the accumulation of their experiences and stories.Can't Get There from HereThis song was the lead single from the album and peaked at number 10 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart - meaning it peaked at about 110 in US popularity.  It is the first R.E.M. song to have a horn section.  You can sense the Soul inspiration in it.  The lyrics about “Philomath” refer to an unincorporated community just outside of Athens, Georgia. ENTERTAINMENT TRACK:Weird Science by Oingo Boingo (from the motion picture “Weird Science”)Two geeky high school students create the perfect woman in this sci-fi comedy partly based on Frankenstein, and largely based on the 1951 comic “Made of the Future” by Al Feldstein. STAFF PICKS:Drive by The Cars  Lynch brings us a version of the Cars single from the 1985 Live Aid concert.  Bassist Benjamin Orr takes on the lead vocal duties for this ballad which was written by frequent front man Ric Ocasek.  The studio version appeared on their 1984 album Heartbeat City,  and became one of the bands biggest hits.Take On Me by a-haBruce features the first US hit by a Norwegian band.  While a-ha released the song twice before without it becoming a hit, the third release with its video combining pencil sketch animation and live performance would propel it to the number 1 slot in the U.S.  Its 2 1/2 octave-spanning chorus makes it one of the hardest songs to sing.Summertime Girls by Y & T Wayne's staff pick is a hair band rocker, the first and only hit by Y&T.  It went to number 55 on the Billboard Hot 100, but was played frequently on the television series “Baywatch.”  The Band Y&T was originally known as "Yesterday & Today," and although they don't have many hits they have sold over 4 million albums worldwide, and were an inspiration for Lars Ulrich of Metallica to become a musician.Dancing in the Street by David Bowie and Mick Jagger Rob closes out the staff picks with a cover originally recorded by Martha and the Vandellas in 1964 (but we all agreed that the Van Halen cover is the best there is).Jagger and Bowie's version made it to number 7 on the US chart and number 1 on the UK chart.  This collaboration was their contribution to the Live Aid charity movement. NOVELTY TRACK:Tequila by The ChampsWe close out this week's podcast with the tune that helped Pee Wee Herman avoid catastrophe at the hands of a biker gang in “Pee Wee's Big Adventure.” Thanks for listening to “What the Riff?!?” NOTE: To adjust the loudness of the music or voices, you may adjust the balance on your device. VOICES are stronger in the LEFT channel, and MUSIC is stronger on the RIGHT channel.Please follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/whattheriffpodcast/, and message or email us with what you'd like to hear, what you think of the show, and any rock worthy memes we can share.Of course we'd love for you to rate the show in your podcast platform!**NOTE: What the Riff?!? does not own the rights to any of these songs and we neither sell, nor profit from them. We share them so you can learn about them and purchase them for your own collections.

Tacoma Hit & Ticonderoga Club Larry's Country Kitchen  Sonya Clark & Howard Finster at the High Olive Crunching Leaves On Thanksgiving We Watched the Dog Show Walt Whitman

Darrin "DJ" Sims, Director of the Truth and Transformation Initiative at the NCCHR, and WABE producer Brianna Carr discuss "(Re) Defining History: Uncovering the 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre," premiering on WABE-TV on September 24. Plus, Rewop takes the spotlight in our series, "Speaking of Poetry," and we learn about the grandfather of Southern folk art, Howard Finster, and hear about this weekend's Finster Fest at Paradise Garden.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

(Finster with Keith Haring) Welcome to our third and final installment of our series on folk artist and preacher Howard Finster. If you haven't heard the first two episodes, these recordings were made in the late 1990's at Finster's Paradise Gardens in North Georgia.     To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on Apple Podcasts click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!

True Tunes host John J. Thompson recently traveled to Cleveland, TN, to speak at a festival in honor of Rev. Howard Finster – the enigmatic painter, pastor, and musician who first came to international prominence when his art was used on album covers by Talking Heads, R.E.M., and Adam Again, and is considered by some to be the father of contemporary folk art. Painter and woodcut printmaker Kreg Yingst, whose art has graced recent album projects by Vigilantes of Love and others, presented at the festival as well and joined John for a conversation. Plus, we crank up the Jukebox to check out one of the most prolific and accomplished outsider musicians of the last three decades; John Darnielle and his band, The Mountain Goats.   The full music list, our special Spotify Mix and more for this episode are available on the SHOW NOTES page at TrueTunes.com/Outsiders2   If you would like to support the show, please consider joining our Patreon community or dropping us a one-time tip and check out our NEW MERCH!

Part two of our talk with artist and preacher Howard Finster, this one got him talking about Hank Williams Sr., Elvis Presley, chewing tobacco and singing an original banjo tune talking about being a tack in the shingle of a roof!  To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!

Howard Finster was a folk artist preacher whose work reached out all over the globe. On this recording from the 1990s, Mr. Finster talks about other preacher's differing theology, sex vs. relationships, the history of Japan, fellow artist Keith Haring and the several literal angels he saw.  To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on Apple Podcasts click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!

What's it like to create an 85-foot mural with a whole city eagerly watching? Kyle “Black Cat Tips” Brooks knows. The creator of whimsical creatures and curiously engaging street poetry, Black Cat Tips (Kyle to us) has a loyal following in Atlanta and throughout the Southeast. With homespun authenticity, Kyle shares the challenges of working really big, how he organically grew his fan base, sharing work in public places, and making peace with a slower work pace. Don't be fooled by his honey-smooth Southern accent: Kyle's honest, light-hearted observations will make you smile — and think.  Find Black Cat Tips: Website:  www.blackcattips.com Instagram:  @blackcattips   Facebook:  BlackCatTips Mentioned: East Atlanta Strut (learn)Smile A While, by Kyle Brooks (read)  or (listen, as read by the author) Howard Finster, artist (1916-2001) (learn) Paradise Garden, installation by Howard Finster (visit)  Want to Hear —and See— More from Black Cat Tips? Here is a super fun video he did as an interview with Space Archives, including a little bit of singing (watch)    Find Me, Kristy Darnell Battani: Website:    https://www.kristybattani.com Instagram:  kristybattaniart Facebook:  kristybattaniart Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please take a moment to leave a rating and a comment: https://lovethepodcast.com/artishplunge   Music:"Surf Guitar Madness," Alexis Messier, Licensed by PremiumBeat.comSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/artishplunge)

Russell and Robert meet legendary American gallerist John Ollman on the 50th anniversary of his career in the art world. As Co-Founder and Director of Fleisher/Ollman gallery, John has paved the way for collectors and museums to support Self-Taught artists. For more than 5 decades, his Philadelphia gallery features work by contemporary artists working both inside and outside of the mainstream.We discuss the lasting influence of Joseph Duveen and Leo Castelli on many gallerists, the psychology of Collecting, the art of Topiary, beginning to work with Janet Fleisher gallery in the early 1970s on a memorable Oceanic Art exhibition. We discuss his championing Self-Taught artists works. We discuss the terminologies created for self-taught artists such as Outsider, Outlier, Visionary and Folk Art. We discuss numerous artists including Sister Gertrude Morgan's paintings, meeting Lee Goadie whilst she was painting outside a Neimann Marcus store, working with Bill Trailor's work since 1981, James Castle, William Edmondson, the Chicago Imagists, Pauline Simon, the curator Lynne Cook's exhibitions, Martn Ramírez (considered as a 'self-taught master'), Howard Finster's Paradise Garden, the game-changing exhibition ‘Magicians de la Terre' which ran across the entire city of Paris in 1989, including Hilma af Klint introducing mainstream audiences to spiritualism within painting. Finally, we explore contemporary artists such as Marlon Mullen and how he discovered the work of the Philadelphia Wire Man in 1985 and the adventures introducing the world to this undiscovered artist's extraordinary sculptures. We also explore the importance of books as a way to discovering artists and artworks plus how collecting art and museum collections have evolved over the past 50 years.Visit @FleisherOllman on Instagram as well as the exhibitions from earlier this year @JTT_NYC and @AdamsAndOllmanView the 'Dear John' show archive page at Adams and Ollman in Portland: https://adamsandollman.com/Dear-JohnView the 'Dear John' show archive page at JTT gallery in New York: https://www.jttnyc.com/exhibitions/2021/dear-johnView the 'Back Stories' show archive page at Fleisher Ollman gallery in Philadelphia: https://fleisher-ollmangallery.com/exhibitions/back_storiesFor images of all artworks discussed in this episode visit @TalkArt. Talk Art theme music by Jack Northover @JackNorthoverMusic courtesy of HowlTown.com We've just joined Twitter too @TalkArt. If you've enjoyed this episode PLEASE leave us your feedback and maybe 5 stars if we're worthy in the Apple Podcast store. For all requests, please email talkart@independenttalent.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The post Rome Floyd Chamber Small Business Spotlight – Russell Cook with Howard Finster’s Paradise Garden, and Daniel Mulkey with Mulkey Dumpster Rental appeared first on Business RadioX ®.

Recorded January 12th, 2021https://www.patreon.com/join/conspirinormal?Writer and the head of the Chattanooga Ghost Tours Amy Pettula joins us on the show to discuss her book "The Corpsewood Manor Murders in North Georgia". We talk about what sparked her interest in this tale of two men who moved to the backwoods of North Georgia in the late 1970s and about their brutal murder in the fall of 1982. We also look into one of the men, Charles Scudder and his ties to Satanism and his interest in the Occult. We also talk about the area of the two men lived and all the wierdness that surrounds the area including the work of the folk artist Howard Finster and what Amy's theories that connect all this High Strangeness.You can find out more about Amy and the Chattanooga Ghost Tours at:https://chattanoogaghosttours.com/

Recorded January 12th, 2021 https://www.patreon.com/join/conspirinormal? Writer and the head of the Chattanooga Ghost Tours Amy Pettula joins us on the show to discuss her book "The Corpsewood Manor Murders in North Georgia". We talk about what sparked her interest in this tale of two men who moved to the backwoods of North Georgia in the late 1970s and about their brutal murder in the fall of 1982. We also look into one of the men, Charles Scudder and his ties to Satanism and his interest in the Occult. We also talk about the area of the two men lived and all the wierdness that surrounds the area including the work of the folk artist Howard Finster and what Amy's theories that connect all this High Strangeness. You can find out more about Amy and the Chattanooga Ghost Tours at: https://chattanoogaghosttours.com/ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Conspirinormal/445112635502740 Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/conspirinormal-podcast/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week, we stumble in to a discussion of campaign rallies and take the current temperature of the Presidential Horse Race. Then, a trip to Howard Finster's Paradise Garden and a discussion of the new Mark Lanegan autobiography, Sing Backwards and Weep.

Artist and Composer Mark Kostabi was born in Los Angeles in 1960 to Estonian immigrants. Raised in Whittier, California, he studied drawing and painting at California State University, Fullerton. Kostabi moved to New York in 1982, and by 1984, emerged as a leading figure in the East Village art scene where he cultivated a provocative media persona by publishing self-interviews reflecting on the commodification of contemporary art. By 1987, his work was widely exhibited in New York galleries as well as prominently throughout the United States, Japan, Germany and Australia. He inspired extensive international press coverage in 1988 when he founded Kostabi World, his Manhattan art studio, which employs numerous painting assistants and idea people. Beginning in the early 1990s Kostabi's work has been widely exhibited throughout Italy. Kostabi established a second home in Rome in 1996. Dividing his time between Rome and New York enabled him to dramatically enhance his presence in the Italian art scene.Kostabi has designed album covers for Guns 'N' Roses (Use Your Illusion) and The Ramones (Adios Amigos), Jimmy Scott (Holding Back The Years), Seether (Holding Onto strings Better Left to Fray) and numerous products including a Swatch watch, a Bloomingdales bag, Alessi vases, Rosenthal espresso cups, and a Giro d'Italia pink jersey.Kostabi is also known for his many collaborations with other artists including Enzo Cucchi, Arman, Howard Finster, Tadanori Yokoo, Enrico Baj and Paul Kostabi. Kostabi performs concerts internationally both as a soloist and with other musicians including Ornette Coleman, Jerry Marotta, Tony Levin, Tony Esposito, and Paul Kostabi. His compostions have also been performed independently by Rein Rannap, Kristjan Jarvi, Maano Manni, Delilah Gutman and the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra. His CDs include I Did It Steinway, Songs For Sumera and New Alliance.

What is Chivalry and why is it important? Glenn starts out with a history of the concept and its key elements. The group then reflects on the loss and even inversion of those elements within our culture before moving into a discussion of folk artist Howard Finster. Support the Theology Pugcast on Indigogo: www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-theology-pugcast  

What is Chivalry and why is it important? Glenn starts out with a history of the concept and its key elements. The group then reflects on the loss and even inversion of those elements within our culture before moving into a discussion of folk artist Howard Finster. Support the Theology Pugcast on Indigogo: www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-theology-pugcast  

What is Chivalry and why is it important? Glenn starts out with a history of the concept and its key elements. The group then reflects on the loss and even inversion of those elements within our culture before moving into a discussion of folk artist Howard Finster. Support the Theology Pugcast on Indigogo: www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-theology-pugcast The Necessity of Chivalry by C.S. Lewis: www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBT9LasyC3E&t=3s&fbclid=IwAR1xQgB0t5Kl3deTB_-knygHrP6-4LVx_Qmb6_SW_pDfdycZc830BYdS3n4 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-theology-pugcast/support

Tom Patterson has been curating and writing about contemporary folk, visionary, and outsider art for more than 30 years. He is known for his biographies of Georgia visionaries Howard Finster and Eddie Owens Martin, aka St. EOM, as well as “Contemporary Folk Art: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum” (2001) and countless articles in Aperture, BOMB, Folk Art, Public Art Review and Raw Vision, among many others. Here we explore the relationship between artist and source, transformative experiences of expanded consciousness, rewiring social conditioning, trapping spirits, synchrotism, and the singular obsession that grips some of us to pull down experiences from visionary planes of consciousness into visual language.   Tom shares a selection from his forthcoming memoir describing his psychedelic awakening in Huautla de Jimenez in 1975 (working title: Chance Operations: Cultural Adventures of a Fledgling Scribe. Copyright by Tom Patterson, 2019). You can email him at Tom41052@aol.com and find many of his articles online. More podcasts where podcasts are found, at MauraJames.com, and on instagram @maurajames or @unbroken.chain.   [“This Must Be The Place” - Talking Heads]

James Bates is bursting with creativity. A professor, sports broadcaster, and artist, Bates, a former college football player, “feels blessed” with three “dream jobs.” As a child and through college, all he wanted to be was an NFL star, a desire nurtured by his football coach father. Though some scratch their heads at his change from the pigskin to the paintbrush, Bates says he wants to make other people happy through his art. He advises students to “take their work seriously, but not themselves.” TRANSCRIPT: Intro: 0:01 Inventors and their inventions. Welcome to Radio Cade the podcast from the Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention in Gainesville, Florida. The museum is named after James Robert Cade , who invented Gatorade in 1965. My name is Richard Miles. We’ll introduce you to inventors and the things that motivate them, we’ll learn about their personal stories, how their inventions work, and how their ideas get from the laboratory to the marketplace. James Di Virgilio: 0:37 What do you think of when you think of an artist, a football player? Probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. My guest today is James Bates, a national champion in college football whose creativity has flourished during and since his playing days, I’m James Di Virgilio, James Bass thanks for joining us. James Bates: 0:54 I like that. Thanks, James. Good to be here. James Di Virgilio: 0:58 I want to talk about not your football career. We’re going to tie football in, but about what now you’re more known for now anyway, you are a play by play broadcaster. You are also a teacher at the University of Florida teaching commentating, and you’re an artist and your art has a really unique style to it, especially your folk art. I want to know from the beginning, were you always drawn towards creative things? Did it take you awhile to figure this out? You were telling me before the show that your dad’s a football coach and he’s very much what you’d expect from a football coach. So creativity probably wasn’t something that came right to the top of your mind in that family, right? James Bates: 1:31 Yeah. I mean, my dad coached a long, long time for just retired a few years ago, but my whole life, he was Coach, long time in the NFL and I loved sports and I love competing, but as much as anything I was always creating and I didn’t really take art classes other than the few that you take in elementary school and junior high, but I always loved them. And I guess I never really got that nudge because it was a football family. And so they knew that I liked to do that, but that’s just what James does is he, he’s over there drawing again. And you know, and I didn’t take any art classes at Florida, but I probably should have, because I sat in class drawing, I guess I got it from my mom. She was always kind of doing a craft or fixing something herself or prettying something up herself. I definitely didn’t get it from my dad, but it’s in me. And it really kind of came out and I realized a guy that I roomed with at Florida, Eric Kresser is his name, he was Danny Wuerffel’s backup. We were in the same freshman class. He was an art major. And my freshman year I wasn’t red shirted right away. He was. And so I’d go out of town and I’d come back and he’d have our dorm room and Yon hall, which is in the stadium just as dirty as can be, but he’d have it rearranged and decorated basically. And I realized, well, I can do stuff like this. It’s not just my mom. That would change my room around. You know, it’s like in a weird way that was an adult moment for me as a creative person that I can, like, I can do some of these things on my own. And so fast forward, right after we from Florida, I had taken a picture of a place where my wife and I got engaged up in Tennessee on the river, a little pigeon river up Gatlinburg area. And which is where I went to high school. I went to same high school as Dolly Parton in Severe County. And so I asked him if he would paint this painting for my wife for Christmas. And he said, yeah, yeah. And Christmas was getting closer and closer and Kresser man, he’s like, Oh man, I’m really busy, you know what? I’ll teach you how to build a canvas. You like to draw, you can do this. You can come over to my house and you can use my paints and I’ll teach you how to build this canvas . And so I did it and I knew while I was painting that, that this wasn’t going to be the last and about the same time, I was lucky enough to have a little part in the water boy with Adam Sandler. And right after that, the football gang that did that movie went and did a movie called “Any Given Sunday” down in South Florida with Al Pachino. And I was down there working on that. And I walked through a few art galleries, Lincoln square in Miami, and I was just blown away. And I just had to have big pieces like this in my house, but I could never afford big pieces like that in my house. So I had to find a way to do it myself. And so that’s kind of the next step of I’m just going to paint and I got to have pieces like this, and I realized in a hurry that for what I was after unfortunately oils and the Florida humidity, I don’t have the patience . And most of my early pieces were oil. And actually one of those early pieces, Billy Donovan and his wife, Christine bought one of my bigger pieces, but I switched over quickly to acrylics with my landscapes. A lot of the , the depth and the textures. I realized that I could kinda arrive at the same conclusion when it’s all said and done, but every now and then when I’m getting ready to go and spend a fall where I got to slam on the brakes in my studio a little bit, I’ll throw some oils on some canvas here and there it’s a little dry while I’m off working for a couple months, and then I can come back and kind of dig back down to it. Yeah. You know, you mentioned my class and we had our first day of school for this semester. It’s my sixth semester last Tuesday. And I feel like I’ve got three dream jobs. I’m a professor and I’m a broadcaster and I’m an artist. I just feel so blessed. I mean, that’s just the coolest thing in the world. I would have taken any one of those three and felt like I had just an incredible life, but to be able to do all three of them is it’s really special. And I really think that a , of the three that being a professor and being around these young men and women and just these minds, they’re so much fun and I do it for free. And you can cut that part out if , if they’re going to hear it over there , at journalism college. But yeah. Thanks for asking. James Di Virgilio: 5:25 Hearing your story. I’m hearing a lot of , of being very true to yourself. Was there any opposition when you were telling your parents or telling your wife or telling your friends , say , I want to pursue art? Was there any James, what are you doing? Football players don’t pursue art or did Eric catch flak painting and doing things in college? Was this an outside the norm thing for you? Or were you always pretty much saying I want to pursue this thing and you were supported in doing so. James Bates: 5:48 Yes, yes, yes. And yes. Still you’ll have people that can’t believe that this linebacker is an artist . Huh, what? And you know, my dad, he still just doesn’t understand it and he wants to and he tries to, but here’s an example yesterday on the phone and again, this is the kind of the house that I grew up in you got to love it, like , but I was like, what are you doing, James? I’m just running all these pieces up, we’re doing this popup show, my buddy Byron at Corteroids have an art show tonight. And he was like, well, your football is getting ready to start are you doing some reading on them ? And I’m like, yeah , yeah, I’m doing okay. But he can’t help himself, bless his heart. He doesn’t know, well, how are the acrylics drying or, you know, or like what medium using now. And so, yeah, I get that. And I get that as you can imagine from football fans, but it’s also appealing to people that have a little bit of a love for art. And I think that the people that do come around and kind of enjoy some of the stories that I tell with the text in my art and in the folk art pieces, I get a sense almost that they appreciate it even more. And I can tell when they appreciate it, just because go Gators. And when they just are truly heartfelt, kind of like blown away and in my piece moves them. And there’s no better feeling in the world than people who will call and, and ask for a commission, send me a message. Hey, my wife for Christmas or our anniversary or something for our home. Just the fact that I can from scratch create something that they feel will make their house better and happier and give it that kind of energy. I’m goose pimply, right? Like right now, like I just, that’s awesome. That’s just so special. And I’ll do that. Even if it’s making a little something for my neighbor, when I’m 90, that I know that they’ll like , I will always want to create and want to make people happy. In that sense. James Di Virgilio: 7:34 We talk a lot on this podcast on Radio Cade about solving a problem. And so a lot of times we’ll ask an entrepreneur, what’s the problem you’re trying to solve. And how are you solving that? I think what you just said is very interesting with art. The problem , so to speak is more of somebody wants something beautiful to look at or something to talk about or a memory to keep with them. And as an artist, you are creating an original piece. Something that cannot be reproduced is not mass manufactured when you’re creating your pieces, especially when you started out, were you making art for yourself? And you were saying, I’m not making this because people may like this, I’m making this for me. And then it’s so happened that people liked it? Or were you making something that you were hoping people would like? James Bates: 8:14 It’s a really good question. And it’s something that I meet resistance from my wife, because we gotta be realistic. And, you know, I can’t just sit up there and just my house is, it’s like my gallery and it makes me happy. And I still, I sold a couple pieces last night and it hurts and I that’s what you have to do. And I always, the one thing that I guess in my mind kind of makes it like a little , okay, well , send me a picture of its new home, but I like to paint big and it gets tough when it’s time to ship or when it’s time to lug them around to all these art shows and whatever. And Tina, my wife is always like, are you sure you want to do it that big? Are you sure you want to do that? That guy not too long ago, commissioned me to do a painting of his daughter. And Tina’s like, she’s not gonna like her legs. And I’m like, well, I just got to kind of be me. And fortunately I have a lot of people that want commissions, but sometimes I have to be me so much to where I have to just say, no, I can’t this month because I’ve sold most of my landscapes and I just can’t not have any landscapes around here. So the month of March, I’m doing landscapes and it feels really good. And this whole cycle of, Oh, now I’m itching to do a piece on Spurrier because I thought of a quote that he used to say to us and stuff like that. And so I fight with that a lot because I like to paint whether it’s a landscape or whether it’s a painting of Danny Wuerffel or Brett Farve or Tim Tebow or anybody, I like to kind of get a quick feel on just certain features. And then I try not to go back to it because I feel like there are a lot of people out there that can paint realistic, close to realistic, very beautiful pieces that are almost like a picture, but I want it to be as much from me and the way my mind sees it and wants it to look on this canvas as they really do look. And a lot of the artists that I’ve followed around that same time back to when I did that first painting for my wife and these galleries down in Miami. I also realized that I really liked text in art. I really like to see a lot of words. Besky Yacht is my all time favorite in a he’s the perfect blend of all of the above, because he’s got the text, he’s pop culture. He’s big with the hip hop scene at that time when it was just coming up. And I didn’t even realize, like I’m such a big hip hop fan from way back in the day. I didn’t even realize until recently how much they rolled together. It goes without saying, I mean , the B-boy culture, the hip hop, the, the street art, the graffiti, it was there, but just to kind of link the two, it makes me feel like my two missions that nobody else really cares about is loving graffiti and loving rap. They have come together. So like, at least for me, it makes me feel a little bit better, you know, but it’s not something that I can sit there and tell my wife that she really will listen to that long. You know, it’s just one of those things . And so Howard Finster is another artist, but he’s more of a folk artist has passed away from Summerville , Georgia, just South of Chattanooga. The quick story, he was a Baptist minister and didn’t do any art ever his whole life. He was he’d fix bikes and whatnot, odd jobs around town, just get some carrying around money being able to live. And he says that in a drop of paint on the sidewalk, an angel appeared to him and said that God wanted him to spread his word through folk art because nobody was listening to his sermons. And so he took a dollar bill out and painted a painting of George Washington right there. And from that day on, that’s what he did. And he’s really probably one of the more well known folk artists that there ever was and ever will be. But he did things for Coca Cola and the Olympics and, Oh, well , we was on the talking heads cover and galleries all over the world, but he would always include scripture. And it’s really interesting. He would paint what he saw as angels on earth. People like Hank Williams, Henry Ford, Martin Luther King, Mickey Mouse. And he would paint them with angels floating all around them. And it , as much as anything it was because they brought joy to the earth doing God’s work like that. And so there’s this sort of pop culture tie in with him too. But he saw people that made people smile, made people happy, made people dance. He saw them as angels on earth. And I just think that’s amazing. And his style of not really caring altogether that he was spot on. It’s truly like an outsider artist, a folk artist style, and kind of learning about him, finding out about him early on, kind of made me not so scared of not measuring the width of the nose or something like that. So it all kind of just lined up just right in the fact that I can create once my football season’s over with the broadcasting is just , uh , it’s the coolest thing ever. And the producers that I work with during the football season, when I’m out calling these games, we’ll do a little segments called B8sy Paints. And if we’re in the coaches meetings on Friday, if we get some story from a coach and like, Oh my gosh, that’s a great story. Well, let me animate it. And so I’ll animate it and we’ll do like a little segment during the show. And so that’s always fun. So I get to tie them altogether. James Di Virgilio: 13:01 That’s so interesting and also fascinating at the same time to watch all your spheres of life bubble up into one. But what comes to mind for me is, and almost everyone’s story, there’s a story of, of hardship or difficulty. And thus far as an, as an outsider, your story almost seems like you try something and it works. You try something and it works. You try something and it works. Have there been moments in your life when you’ve had an idea and inspiration, a vision and you, and you started to do it or went with it and all you were getting was difficulty? James Bates: 13:27 Well, maybe a little bit with my style in broadcasting, I think early on, which was my world for the longest time. I mean, that’s how I was going to pay the bills for the rest of my life. And that’s what I majored in back then when I was coming up, it was the grizzled voice, the buttoned up suit, you know, and these great, great broadcasters. That’s all you really got. And there wasn’t a million channels out there where you had all these different people and these different personalities. So there was some resistance when I would come rolling in and I just really enjoy making people smile, whether it’s with my art or , or making people laugh, you know, it’s basically the same thing. So sometimes I , I can’t help myself. Like I, you know, I probably shouldn’t here, I probably shouldn’t here b lah b lah. And I just like spit it out. And, a nd so not everybody loved that. And that’s one thing I think that in my life that I’ve been most proud of too, is that I j ust k ind o f stuck with who I was. And eventually people saw that his style he’s great hosting these studio shows. He’s quick and basically the way I tell my students is you’re w riting. You’re always writing. You should take more writing classes because we’re always writing a nd on the fly and being quick and Hey, such and such, take us to break, you know, just in the middle of class and y ou g otta be on your toes, but add some flavor to it. And the flavor that I added, wasn’t always what my dad and his coaching buddies would have always thought that i t was the proper way to take it to break or whatever. So I’m kind of proud to have met that resistance, but kind of stuck it out and found a place for me. It’s it’s like we were talking about before we went on, there are a lot of names out there that are a lot more attractive in the football world than J ames Bates. You know, I’m very proud of my football career. I was an all SEC linebacker and w on a bunch of rings at Florida. And my senior year, we won a national championship, but no real NFL career to speak of. And all of these guys that retire every year from the NFL long careers and they know their ball, but you’ve got to entertain as well. I mean, that’s people want to be entertained. S o you straddle that fence of X’s and O’s and, a nd entertaining. And I tell my students, my c lasses i s at the University of Florida in the journalism college. And it’s a play by play on air talent class. And it’s not just T V people, which is really neat. It’s people t hat take it just for public speaking. But for those TV people, if I turn on the TV and I see you just going through the motions, just checking off boxes, not treating your sideline reporter or your analyst with respect a nd, and there’s a true, sincere friendship there then why would I bother sticking around i f y ou, if you’re not into it, if you’re not excited, why should I be excited? Because there are a lot of other football games that are going on right now. There a re a lot of other basketball games out there, and there are a lot of people that want your job. So when I t urned on the TV, I just want to see you just oozing with appreciation because you’re living out a dream. And so I just try to think like that every time, y ou k now, I get a little bit sad in the fall, O h, I g ot t o go away for the weekend. The only time the kids don’t have school and they’re going to do such fun things and woe is me. But you know, I just, I make my time count during the week and then go and put everything I can into it. You know, the games that I call, a ren’t the sexiest games in the ACC that weekend. But you know what? These kids are living out a dream and I’m going to showcase them and I’m going to learn their stories and spend the time whether they make the air or not. And that’s really special because I was right there not too long ago. That’s all I wanted to, do was to play football, was t o g o make tackles. And my dad wanted me to be a quarterback, but Brian Bosworth was up at O U when I was in junior high, i n Texas doing his thing and t here was no way I was going to do anything, but be a linebacker and go hit people. And we’re 44. I hate to admit how important it was for me to wear 44. Like I almost, well, they recruited me, they sent me a media g uy. Oh, 44 is not going to be available because of freshmen. W hereas I don’t know if I can go there. That’s embarrassing. James Di Virgilio: 17:17 I think inspiration is such an important thing. Every, every podcast I’ve done, no matter what the person is working on or doing the inspirations in their lives were key . And , and you’ve mentioned many of them , uh, which has been great. Now I want to turn our attention towards you inspiring some others. And I’ve heard some themes that you’ve mentioned. You’ve talked about being true to yourself, but you’ve also talked about some structure within that. I think in our society, it’s easy to take, be true to yourself, to an extreme, to where, of being true to yourself as rubbing everyone else wrong. You just keep on going. But I’ve heard, you mentioned like gratitude and appreciation and energy and thankfulness, and being in the studio here with you today, I can feel your energy. It’s genuine. And there’s a genuine authenticity to you coupled with your own originality. So when you’re teaching your classes and you’re talking to young artists, or what’s the balance between be yourself and some of these other things that you’re going to have to also have in order to make, cause you can’t just right . You can’t just take that to an extreme. James Bates: 18:14 Well, it kind of starts with take your job seriously, but don’t take yourself seriously. If you take yourself too seriously and you can’t really come into our class and have an ego, like you have to be able to laugh at yourself, our middle child, Talia, she’s a swimmer. We just dropped her off at school last week. She was a late, late bloomer, but she’s very coachable and she’s going to do every single thing and just crushes her if she lets her coaches down or her parents down. And she stresses a little bit too much. I mean, she’s a perfectionist and it’s gotten her a scholarship to swim at the University of Florida. And I’m so proud of her, but it can have some negative effects too. I mean, she stresses too much and it eats at her and it’s not healthy, but in our house, like you gotta be able to laugh at yourself. I mean, we crush her. You can’t take yourself too seriously if you’re so worried about your own little bubble and worrying about yourself so much, how are you going to give energy to others? I can’t even like begin with someone that has bad intentions and bad energy. And for them to take that to an extreme, like , I can’t even go there. Just be yourself, lead with your heart really and lead with a good heart. I mean, we’re all so fortunate. I remind these kids, you guys go to the University of Florida, that alone, right there means something. And this basically, it’s like your first job. And it’s like, we talk about being on TV. Like, and if you don’t show appreciation, don’t come in here, feeling sorry for yourself, get off your phone, bring your energy to class. I’m not going to keep you all the way to the final bell. I’m not going to give you a lot of homework, but when you’re here, be here and take care of your classmates and let’s all get better. Let’s not worry about one thing. Let’s try things. Even if we feel like complete idiots, let’s just try it. We have so much fun, but we get in trouble by the neighboring teachers, you know, Hey, can you guys keep it down we’re taking a quiz over here. But I guess it’s just that it’s just kind of the heart it’s like I talked about with the commission paintings or somebody buys one of my paintings, it’s it really is from my heart. And for them to respect that and to want a piece of my heart back to Howard Fencer, that’s like doing God’s work. I feel like that’s making people happy and making their homes happy and their, and their families happy. And so I think that as long as you have good heart, you can go to any extreme you want to go. And people may say this is done with a good heart, but a good heart is a good heart. It’s just plain and simple. It’s , it’s , it’s black and white. It’s just, this is good. This is bad type of thing. And so I’m very proud that I’m able to kind of give people a piece like that. James Di Virgilio: 20:40 Yeah. You can feel when someone cares for you versus when someone is just trying to give off like charismatic energy. And I think, you know, you emanate that and I’m sure as you’re challenging, sometimes the status quo or you’re , you’re exploring your creativity um , it’s always with that lens. Which does give you a little more freedom to try things. And I think that’s a great lesson for everyone out there is to pursue your passions. Yes. But also why are you pursuing your passions? And , and for you, you talk a lot about bringing others joy. It’s very other focused and not in a weird way allows you to express yourself even better. And that’s not necessarily the most popular message today, which is more about, do you do yourself, focus on yourself. I think you’re focused on others, bringing you joy and then allowing you to flourish with how you were created is a really interesting and creative narrative throughout your life. And today it’s been great to hear, you know, last week I was in Milan, I saw the last supper in person painted by DaVinci. And , and what you realize is something you’ve been saying the whole time, DaVinci was always very true to himself, right? He was commissioned by the authorities that be, but he always put himself into his work. And I think as an artist, sometimes that gave you international fame while you were living. And sometimes it didn’t, but I think your message reigns true. There’s a level where each one of us, whether we’re an entrepreneur in the tech world, or we’re an artist, or we’re a play by play commentator, we’re at the end, you want to say that you and your unique DNA structure put your brand on something and you did it in a way that was, that was good and right, and just, and I think your story emanates that obviously you’ve had tons of success in the football field, tons of success and these other things. But I think if I’m going to get this right, what matters most to you sounds like the , the joy you’ve brought to others. That’s what I keep hearing is kind of this excitement you bring to other people, this chance for you to take your talents and skills and maybe better the world around you. James Bates: 22:22 Well thank you and, and you know what, it’s the same thing with the millions that DaVinci would reach as it is with somebody who has a painting that their mom did have a Lake on their wall. Hey, my mom did this and she loved to paint. She worked really hard. She loved to paint and I love that painting. That’s all it is. You know, anybody that has that in them that wants to create, I hope that everybody gets a chance and in whatever walk of life, I mean, we sit in meetings at the board for the Cade museum. I mean, like most of that stuff, I’m like, why do they have me here? Why do they come here? What am I doing? Okay, I’m 46. Now I could go home and study it, but I’m no, I’m not. I’m out of school a long time ago, but it’s such an incredible place. And it’s such an amazing feeling for everybody to want us to be up there, to be a part of it that they feel like we can make it better. It’s for creative ideas and it’s, and it’s so neat to see team because not everybody’s wired like that. And like, Oh, okay, this is my chance. This is where they want me. But sometimes when we get into some of the real nitty gritty of the stats and the numbers like, Oh no, I just want to curl up in the fetal position, roll around on the floor. I’ve always been like that though. Even with my football, you know, my , my dad and brother, they’re always been students of the game. X’s and O’s, and , but I’ve just kind of enjoyed the human interest side of, of all of it, but yeah, really enjoying it all. James Di Virgilio: 23:41 Well, James, thanks so much for being with us. He is James Bates, four time, four consecutive time, I should say SEC champion national champion artist , entrepreneur, teacher, analyst , right? List goes on, a dad, fantastic, James Bates: 23:56 I’m a good dad too. We didn’t talk about that too much, but I’m maybe most proud of , of being a good dad and a good husband. James Di Virgilio: 24:01 Well it’s been amazing to have you and to hear your story. Thanks for, thanks for sharing it . I’m sure it will inspire others. And for Radio Cade , I’m James Di Virgilio . James Bates: 24:08 Thanks James Outro: 24:09 Radio Cade would like to thank the following people for their help and support Liz Gist of the Cade Museum for coordinating and vendor interviews. Bob McPeak of Heartwood Soundstage in downtown Gainesville, Florida for recording, editing and production of the podcasts and music theme. Tracy Collins for the composition and performance of the Radio Cade theme song, featuring violinist, Jacob Lawson and special, thanks to the Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention located in Gainesville, Florida.

Music Provided by: SeamonsterIntroductory Audio Clips by Calvin Burgamy & Kenny GraySupport Makers & Mystics Podcast!Visit Howard Finster’s Paradise GardensSoundscapes by Ben Stamper

Join Dr. Diana McClintock, Associate Professor of Art History, and Kennesaw State University students as they discuss the preservation projects undertaken at Paradise Gardens and the experience of working to save an artistic treasure. Howard Finster's evangelical, religious art has appeared in magazines, on record covers, and in museums, influencing artists around the world. Beyond the thousands of pieces he crafted, Finster also created a unique recycled art garden and built environment in Summerville, GA: Paradise Gardens.

Kennesaw State University Associate Professor Dinah McClintock took her art history class on a different kind of field trip. Instead of visiting a museum to study paintings and learn about famous artists who died more than 200 years ago, her students headed to Summerville, Ga., to help restore a famous folk artist’s art garden. This “adventure,” as students called it, would excite, inspire and change many, if not all, that participated. Their destination was Howard Finster’s Paradise Gardens. Howard Finster's evangelical, religious art has appeared in magazines, on record covers, and in museums, influencing artists around the world. Beyond the thousands of pieces he crafted, Finster also created a unique recycled art garden and built environment in Summerville, GA: Paradise Gardens.

Warren Perry, curator of "Echoes of Elvis," discusses Elvis's time in the army and his portrait by Howard Finster