Podcasts about uk london

Made Tech CEO, Rory MacDonald and CFO, Neil Elton present the group's results for the six months ended 30 November 2024, followed by a Q&A session. Rory MacDonald, CEO & Founder 00:16 Introduction 00:59 H1 FY25 Highlights Neil Elton, CFO 04:55 H1 FY25 Financial highlights 06:39 Revenue and Gross Profit 10:17 Sales bookings 11:01 Adjusted EBITDA bridge 12:24 Balance sheet 13:55 Cash flow Rory MacDonald, CEO & Founder 14:53 Market opportunity 19:17 Clients and Industries 20:37 Case studies 25:02 Service Lines 28:03 Software products 29:02 People 31:20 ESG 32:49 Outlook 34:45 Q&A Made Tech is a provider of digital, data and technology services, which enable central government, healthcare, local government organisations and other regulated industries to digitally transform. Made Tech's purpose is to "positively impact the future of society by improving public services technology". To achieve this the company has four key strategic missions: Modernise legacy technology and working practices; Accelerate digital service and technology delivery; Drive better decisions through data and automation; and Enable technology and delivery skills to build better systems. The Group operates from four locations across the UK - London, Manchester, Bristol, and Swansea. More information is available at https://investors.madetech.com/

(0:00) Intro(0:11) Blood donation announcement by Indus Hospital(1:26) Bv ko aisi qasam k aldaaz se talaq? Tasdeeqi gawahon ka hukam?(1:58) Family physician ki doosri shadi ka masla? Ulama ka daira e kaar shadiyan krana nhi.(6:27) Mufti sb nikah parrhaty huay(12:27) Mufti Saeed Khan Islamabad walon ko sunna?(15:05) Family vlogging krna?(15:34) Khana e Kaaba mn mard aurton ki mixing?(17:25) Jamaat mn zukam, korrh, juzam k mareezon ka hukam?(20:01) Bv aur maa k jhagrron mn aisy alfaaz se talaq?(22:10) Molana hazraat ki dawat mn aqeedat mandon ki muft khori ki aadat?(24:00) Jahaz k SOPs ka khayal rakhty huay wazu aur namaz ka tariqa?(29:11) Mufti sb ny Canada se aaty huay jahaz mn wazu kaisy kiya?(31:34) Tablighi ijtama walon k wazu se jahaz ka hashar?(31:58) Doosron ko takleef daina?(33:16) Jahaz mn 2 namazon ko ikatha kr k parrhna?(34:00) Hadis Sahih Bukhari(34:55) Nabi ﷺ se 2 namazon ko ikatha krny ka saboot(35:44) Hadis Sahih Muslim(37:35) Engineer ka istadlal(39:19) Deobandi, Hanfi k ta'anay ka jawab(40:04) Masla teen talaq(41:18) Nabi ﷺ ny 2 namazain ikathi kaisy parrhain?(41:46) Sooraj k saya se namaz k waqt maloom krna mushkil?(42:39) Hajj mn namazon ko milany ki wja?(43:28) Khulasa: Jahaz mn namaz ki timing ka masla(44:21) Aik Sahabia ra ko Nabi ﷺ ki ijaazat 2 namazon ko ikatha krny pr(44:46) Plane take off ki surat mn?(45:35) USA jaty huay Mufti sb ki namaz(46:42) Ikhtalaf e Ummat rehmat(47:29) Call center mn naam badal kr job krna?(48:34) Wazu mn naak se khoon?(48:48) Namaz ka waqt dakhil hony pr pehly apni namaz parrhain ya qaza e umri?(49:02) Ma'azur, bemar, boorrhay ki namaz k ehkam?(50:04) 4 namazon ko 2 krny ki wja?(55:38) Installments ki zakaat?(56:46) Char fiqah mn se aik ko follow krna, amli zindagi mn masail ka hal?(59:36) UK London mn ikhtalaf ka masla?(1:00:15) 2 namazain ikathi krny pr engineer ka bayan(1:01:45) Aisy alfaaz se qasam ka kaffara?(1:02:46) Logon ko takleef daina?(1:03:36) Ghar mn cable, internet lagana? Dauran-e-namaz mobile jaib mn? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 52! Please welcome the incredible Dexter Hercules, drummer for Ed Sheeran, to discuss his career journey from coming up in London's music scene to currently performing in stadiums around the world. Dexter shares his experiences playing for The Voice UK, how he got the gig with Ed Sheeran, what it's like playing stadiums, navigating the world of drum clinics, left handed drumming, the big reason why he learned how to read music, his passion for community-building through music, and more. We dive into his unique drumming style, the role of versatility in the music industry, and how London's session scene has grown over the years. Let's go with one of the top UK session drummers, Dexter Hercules!‘Go with Elmo Lovano' is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights.Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated!Listen to the audio form of this podcast wherever you get your podcasts: https://rss.com/podcasts/gowithelmoFollow Dexter:https://www.instagram.com/dhercs/Follow Elmo Lovano:https://Instagram.com/elmolovanohttps://Twitter.com/elmolovano

Made Tech CEO, Rory MacDonald and CFO, Neil Elton present the group's results for the year ended 31 May 2024, followed by Q&A. Rory MacDonald, CEO 00:16 - Introduction 01:04 - FY24 highlights Neil Elton, CFO 04:32 - FY24 financial highlights 06:13 - Diversification & client rentention 08:52 - Bookings & Revenue 09:43 - Adjusted EBITDA bridge 11:58 - Balance sheet 12:39 - Cashflow Rory MacDonald, CEO 13:47 - Operational highlights 16:02 - Clients & Industries 17:11 - Services 19:59 - Case studies 22:40 - Software products 26:03 - Case studies 28:32 - Outlook 29:44 - Q&A Made Tech is a provider of digital, data and technology services, which enable central government, healthcare, local government organisations and other regulated industries to digitally transform. Made Tech's purpose is to "positively impact the future of society by improving public services technology". To achieve this the company has four key strategic missions: Modernise legacy technology and working practices; Accelerate digital service and technology delivery; Drive better decisions through data and automation; and Enable technology and delivery skills to build better systems. The Group operates from four locations across the UK - London, Manchester, Bristol, and Swansea. More information is available at https://investors.madetech.com/

Send us a Text Message.This is the first of a series of podcasts regarding some incidents in the UK (London) that took place 100 years ago and caused a 'moral panic'. This first podcast tells of how drugs, (class A drugs as we understand them today) were introduced into the UK, at first accepted but then rejected after misuse. The second podcast will be about what was known as 'White Slavery' 100 years ago but as we better understand as human trafficking. Then I will broadcast some podcasts based on these podcasts and police reports of the time. Incidents that are mainly forgotten today. I will post the next pod shortly.This podcast has not been edited in anyway, and has been recorded in one take. I apologise in advance for any mispronounceations.

If you've ever wondered what it is like to live on the French Riviera, then you'll love my interview today with Laura Tobin, an Italian Food Blogger. Where she lives, she has Nice to the East, Antibes to the West, Monaco in the middle and Saint-Tropez just an hour away.Just like me, Laura is a traveller at heart. She has spent four years in the USA (Connecticut and Miami) and five years in the UK (London), Norway, and France. She speaks four languages fluently: Italian, English, French, and Spanish, and she has counted Roger Moore, yep, the one who played James Bond, as her neighbour.She has two silky chickens, which aren't like normal chickens, and she'll talk to us about her life in the South of France, Italian food, and how to explore the beautiful French Riviera without the crowds.Mentioned on Today's Episode:Chateau de Londigny Meet My Guest Laura Tobin, an Italian Foodblogger Your Guardian Chef Laura's YouTube ChannelFacebookInstagramI'm Kylie Lang, owner of Life in Rural France, a travel blog dedicated to helping others explore & discover all that France has to offer. On the blog, you'll discover sections covering:City Guides - everything you need to know about visiting cities such as Paris, Bordeaux, Carcassonne, Rouen, La Rochelle and many more.Moving to France - lots of resources to help you plan your move from visas and insurance to sim cards and watching TV.French Travel News - discover what's happening in France, from festivals and events to the latest deals and offers.If there is anything you'd like to know about living in France, the French culture or the history of this wonderful country, feel free to DM me on Instagram @lifeinruralfrance

who are living in the Uk / London for the last 25 years and 10 years respectively. They discuss their lives now living in the city as opposed to being brought up in rural east Clare.    Originally broadcast on Saturday 15th June 2024 live from the BBC Studio 51 B, Broadcasting House, London, Home of the BBC as part of Saturday Chronicle and Jim Collins and Tom Hanley with Daragh Leamy.  Saturday Chronicle is Sponsored by JAMES M NASH AND DERG KITCHEN DESIGN http://dergkitchendesign.ie Message or what's app the studio on 089 2582647 or email sbcrstudio@gmail.com

>> AI Generated: The speaker discusses her daughter's potential interest in volunteering in the light event in Hong Kong. She also talks about her recent experience with her daughter's deceptivities and her feeling of her lack of interest in her parents' religion. She mentions feeling sad and grateful for her daughter's actions.

Latest news from 07 March 2024, as reported in the Ukrainian media. Easy ways to support us: Subscribe to our Patreon to give monthly support https://www.patreon.com/highlightsfromukraine Send us a one-time 'thank you' tip via PayPal at: highlightsfromukraine@gmail.com Out YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3oH111z Special thanks to our top Patreon supporters - Helena Pszczolko O'Callaghan, mattg629, krissi, Jared and Dick Warner!

Made Tech CEO, Rory MacDonald and CFO, Neil Elton present interim results for the six months ended 30 November 2023, followed by Q&A. Rory MacDonald, CEO 00:16 - Introduction 01:05 - H1 FY24 Highlights Neil Elton, CFO 05:14 - H1 FY24 Highlights 06:39 - Revenue & gross margin 08:28 - Bookings and revenue 09:33 - EBITDA Bridge 11:06 - Balance sheet 11:39 - Cash flow Rory MacDonald, CEO 12:39 - Capabilities & offerings 16:09 - Clients 18:40 - Case Study: Homes for Ukraine 19:36 - Case Study: Ministry Of Justice 20:42 - Housing products for local government 22:22 - People 24:22 - Market opportunity 26:48 - Strategic plan 28:05 - Outlook 29:39 - Q&A Made Tech is a provider of digital, data and technology services, which enable central government, healthcare, local government organisations and other regulated industries to digitally transform. Made Tech's purpose is to "positively impact the future of society by improving public services technology". To achieve this the company has four key strategic missions: Modernise legacy technology and working practices; Accelerate digital service and technology delivery; Drive better decisions through data and automation; and Enable technology and delivery skills to build better systems. The Group operates from four locations across the UK - London, Manchester, Bristol, and Swansea. More information is available at https://investors.madetech.com/

Ep 217 Silicon Valley and The Middle East with Fouad Alnazawi and Stephanie Richards Guests: Fouad Alnazawi and Stephanie Richards Topic: Exploring the unique challenges and opportunities for startups in Silicon Valley and Saudi Arabia, and how collaboration between these two regions can drive innovation and growth. Intro: Briefly introduce the hosts and the episode's topic. Highlight the expertise of the guests, Fouad Alnazawi and Stephanie Richards, in the startup ecosystems of Saudi Arabia and Silicon Valley respectively. Career Journeys and Regional Insights: Invite Fouad and Stephanie to share their career paths and experiences in the startup scene. Discuss the distinct strengths and challenges faced by startups in Saudi Arabia compared to Silicon Valley. Venture Capital Landscape and Investment Strategies : Compare the availability of venture capital and investment opportunities in both regions. Explore the differences in investment styles and priorities between Silicon Valley and Saudi Arabia. Discuss the role of angel groups and recent developments in the funding ecosystems. Growth Trajectory and Global Collaboration: Analyze the typical growth trajectory of startups in Saudi Arabia and their preferred expansion strategies. Emphasize the importance of global collaboration and partnerships for startups in today's interconnected world. Discuss the potential benefits and opportunities of connecting startup ecosystems on a global scale. International Collaboration and Initiatives: Highlight existing initiatives or programs in both regions that promote international collaboration among entrepreneurs and tech companies. Share specific examples of successful collaborations between startups from Silicon Valley and Saudi Arabia. Regulatory Considerations and Areas of Collaboration: Discuss the regulatory landscape for startups in Saudi Arabia and potential challenges entrepreneurs might face. Identify areas where Silicon Valley and Saudi Arabia can collaborate more effectively to drive innovation and growth. Challenges and Success Stories: Invite Fouad and Stephanie to share personal challenges they have encountered in their roles and how they overcame them. Discuss their approach to measuring the success of companies they work with. Share inspiring examples of successful startups that have emerged from Saudi Arabia and the problems they solve. Connecting with the Guests and Conclusion: Provide information on how listeners can learn more about Fouad, Stephanie, and their work. Briefly summarize the key takeaways from the discussion and reiterate the importance of collaboration between startup ecosystems. Additional Questions: Discuss the current emphasis on fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia and its potential impact. Explore the role of universities and research institutions in supporting the local startup ecosystem.   Foaud Alnazawi Bio   https://www.linkedin.com/in/fouad-alnazawi-a1175712/   Foaud is the Managing Director of Lamarka Consulting Services   Lamarka is a consultancy firm that provides range of services; we have been helping visionary leaders to unleash growth and development by Crafting Winning Strategies and Implementing them. Lamarka is a group that has 2 companies; Lamarka Consulting Services and Lamarka 700. We offer range of services for our clients to improve their businesses and take it to the next level. Our purpose is to inspire companies and individuals to achieve their highest potential. Our core values are: Elevation of Standards Dreams, Creativity and Innovation Integrity Encouragement of individual initiatives Stephanie Richards https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanieerichards/   Stephanie has 20 years of experience at the intersection of national economic development and innovation ecosystems. She focuses on the strategy, policy, intelligent capital and international connectivity needed to accelerate young innovation and startup environments.  With a background in economics, strategy consulting, entrepreneurship and venture capital, and following nearly a decade as a Middle East and North Africa (MENA) emerging markets and economic development specialist at Monitor Group (subsequently Monitor Deloitte), Stephanie founded her own firm in 2013. She advises and partners with mission-aligned venture capital funds, ecosystem builders, academic institutions and government entities to ensure that pioneering IP, innovation and technologies find a path to international markets and global impact. Stephanie has a particular passion for mentoring researcher-entrepreneurs, building innovator-founder communities, and supporting innovation commercialization and ecosystemic transitions from shallower tech to deeper tech. She serves as an advisory board member, mentor and investor for numerous startups and early-stage companies, and is a business supervisor, guest speaker and regular mentor for entrepreneurial talent at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School. Having been based in MENA since 2005, Stephanie now divides her time between the GCC, the UK (London and Cambridge) and North America (primarily Silicon Valley), actively working to improve collaboration between the diverse set of innovation communities on all three continents.

Day 93 - 100 Days of Happy - Choosing a Happy Christmas Alone

This batch contains recordings made at a range of meetings and events in the UK (London, Bournemouth, and Plymouth) in 2019. More materials here: https://first164.blogspot.com/

This batch contains recordings made at a range of meetings and events in the UK (London, Bournemouth, and Plymouth) in 2019. More materials here: https://first164.blogspot.com/

This batch contains recordings made at a range of meetings and events in the UK (London, Bournemouth, and Plymouth) in 2019. More materials here: https://first164.blogspot.com/

This batch contains recordings made at a range of meetings and events in the UK (London, Bournemouth, and Plymouth) in 2019. More materials here: https://first164.blogspot.com/

This batch contains recordings made at a range of meetings and events in the UK (London, Bournemouth, and Plymouth) in 2019. More materials here: https://first164.blogspot.com/

This batch contains recordings made at a range of meetings and events in the UK (London, Bournemouth, and Plymouth) in 2019. More materials here: https://first164.blogspot.com/

This batch contains recordings made at a range of meetings and events in the UK (London, Bournemouth, and Plymouth) in 2019. More materials here: https://first164.blogspot.com/

This batch contains recordings made at a range of meetings and events in the UK (London, Bournemouth, and Plymouth) in 2019. More materials here: https://first164.blogspot.com/

This batch contains recordings made at a range of meetings and events in the UK (London, Bournemouth, and Plymouth) in 2019. More materials here: https://first164.blogspot.com/

In this episode of the HRchat show, we preview two DisruptHR events coming up in the UK - London 18.0 and the very first edition to be held in Milton Keynes! Bill's guest this time is Sarah Hayes, Human Resources Director at Securitas UK and Securitas Technology UK, deputy chair of the CSC DE&I board, and speaker. Sarah will be a speaker at the London chapter event and co-host in Milton Keynes. Professionals will come together at each event for an evening of inspiring speakers and networking:Hear what HR leaders and workplace innovators are doing in 2023 to improve the workplaceDiscover innovative approaches to how companies are disrupting current practices and adding value to the Birmingham HR communityNetwork with forward-thinking HR and Tech people - we want to ensure we network and build connectionsWe do our best to ensure editorial objectivity. The views and ideas shared by our guests and sponsors are entirely independent of The HR Gazette, HRchat Podcast and Iceni Media Inc.   This episode is supported by Right Management North America and ManpowerGroup. For 40+ years, Right Management has transformed organizations across more than 75 countries by evaluating, developing, and transitioning their talent. Their strong pool of coaches and leadership experts works closely with candidates to help them identify their strengths, develop new capabilities, or transition to new careers.Feature Your Brand on the HRchat PodcastThe HRchat show has had 100,000s of downloads and is frequently listed as one of the most popular global podcasts for HR pros, Talent execs and leaders. It is ranked in the top ten in the world based on traffic, social media followers, domain authority & freshness. The podcast is also ranked as the Best Canadian HR Podcast by FeedSpot and one of the top 10% most popular shows by Listen Score. Want to share the story of how your business is helping to shape the world of work? We offer sponsored episodes, audio adverts, email campaigns, and a host of other options. Check out packages here and contact sales@hr-gazette.com. Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our newsletter Check out our in-person events

Der Berg rief und wir waren am Start. Das Bergfunk Festival hat Paula und mir die Gelegenheit gegeben ein paar allerfeinste Bands live zu sehen und My Ugly Clementine zu interviewen! Huzzah! Es geht um Regenklamotten, Knusperhäuser, Rockstars, Musik als Produkt und Kommunikation. Also eine sehr gute Sache, die ihr im Herbst auch bei Club Shows live erleben könnt! 29.09.23 AT-Graz, PPC Halle 30.09.23 GER-München, Ampere 01.10.23 GER-Wiesbaden, Schlachthof 02.10.23 NL-Amsterdam, Paradiso 04.10.23 BE-Brussels, Botanique 05.10.23 FR-Paris, La Boule Noire 06.10.23 FR-Angers, Le Chabada 08.10.23 UK-London, The Old Blue Last 10.10.23 GER-Köln, CBE 11.10.23 GER-Hamburg, Knust 12.10.23 GER -Berlin, Hole44 13.10.23 GER -Dresden, GrooveStation 10.11.23 AT-Wien, Arena My Ugly Clementine im Internet Der My Ugly Clementine Webshop Mehr ALL YOU CAN EAT Interviews

UK London Rescue by Michael by 826 Valencia

A re-release from 2017 still valid today and I've worked with even more people with CRPS now: Contact me on https://www.jillwigmore-welsh.com or book a conversation to discuss options Book a 30 minute conversation, Note this is UK London time zones set A successful case CRPS Early Symptoms of CRPS Complex regional pain syndrome, or CRPS, ...Complex Regional Pain Syndrome is quite a rare problem but many people have early signs of CRPS after an injury. During this podcast produced during the NERVEmber month of CRPS awareness, Jill talks about what you should watch out for and the Budapest Criteria   We know that the best early stage treatment for CRPS is expert support from a clinician who knows how to help you to turn round your symptoms.   BUT what should you watch out for and who should you contact?   This recording will help you find out

Eleanor "Elle" Cairns is a Talent Manager/Agent at 42 Management & Production, a fully integrated management and production company with offices in London and Los Angeles. The company produces film, television, and content, and represents actors, writers, directors, comedians, presenters, producers, casting directors, and media book rights. In this sit down with Jess and Jenn, Elle discusses the current climate of the industry, the differences between the UK and the US in terms of agents and managers, and what actors need to know about getting representation in both countries. — Elle's Journey to Becoming a Talent Manager — Agents and Managers in the UK Market — Finding New Talent — How US and UK Reps Work Together — The UK Casting Director and Agent Dynamic — The WGA Strike's Impact Overseas — Spotlight, Breakdown Services, and Casting Networks — Stories About Actors and Boundaries — Why Get a US Agent as a UK Actor, and vice versa — Pitching Clients Episode Resources: Eleanor Cairns Linkedin 42 Management & Production Warner Bros Discovery Boss David Zaslav Draws Jeers And Chants Of “Pay Your Writers!” During Boston University Commencement Address ──────────────────────────── Stay Tuned with Tipsy Casting on IG Follow Jessica & Follow Jenn Learn More About Jess & Jenn's Casting Journeys Get Casting Life Away Merch here! ⁠Visit the official Tipsy Casting Website and join our newsletter to stay up to date with all the Tipsy Casting news! ⁠ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tipsycastingpodcast/message

Latest news from 15 May 2023, as reported in the Ukrainian media. Easy ways to support us: Subscribe to our Patreon to give monthly support https://www.patreon.com/highlightsfromukraine Send us a one-time 'thank you' tip via PayPal at: highlightsfromukraine@gmail.com Out YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3oH111z Special thanks to our top Patreon supporters - Helena Pszczolko O'Callaghan, Pete Carroll, mattg629, krissi and Jared!

#taxichronicles #lawyer #newyork #law #writer #lawschool #hongkok #degree #UK #London #uberchronicles #uberdriver #podcast Comments: Info@Taxi-chronicles.com www.AfricaInvestorStories.com www.Taxi-Chronicles.com https://www.facebook.com/Taxi-chronicles-104420284680113/https://www.instagram.com/taxi_chronicles_uk/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/taxi-chronicles/message

Claire Barnett is an experienced business leader, speaker and campaigner currently leading United Nations Women UK as Executive Director.Bob Dalton interviews Claire to discuss women's rights in the UK, the #MeToo movement, and how we can all work together toward a better society.Learn more by visiting: www.unwomenuk.org

Эфир от 17.12.2006 Долгие годы с вами встречался в эфире различных р/ст, но "Maximum" и "Electroshock", это однозначно венец моей карьеры на радио. 8 лет мы распечатывали уик-энд самыми горячими танцевальными релизами недели, а гостями становились звезды мировых танцполов. Шоу шагнуло далеко за границы сети вещания "Maximum" и транслировалось еще на 20-ти р/ст нашей страны, и не только! Грузия, Армения, Украина, Казахстан и даже США (русскоязычный вещатель). Гостями программы были мировые звезды, такие как: Dedmau5, Prodigy, Avicii и многие другие! Я был спокоен за записи шоу, ведь все они были в одном месте, на эксклюзиве и пользовались популярностью, но случалось так, как случилось…Архив был безвозвратно удален из-за сбоя в 2017г. Признаюсь, сильно переживал и практически смирился… Но! Весной 2022 один радиослушатель сообщил, что у него есть записи радио-шоу за 2,5 года (2011,2012 и часть 2013), а чуть позже случайно нашлись и ранние выпуски 2006,07 гг. Забрезжила надежда хотя бы частично восстановить "Electroshock"! Поэтому, если у вас завалялись записи моего радиошоу - обязательно отправляйте! А теперь, друзья, вы либо откроете для себя, либо вспомните то, как начинался EDM и то каким был тогда мир. Добро пожаловать на "Electroshock" и на мои страницы! Онлайн школа Руслана Севера ссылка (www.info-mymusicschool.ru/) Telegram: @abletonhello VK: djsever Instagram: musume_sever Promodj: promodj.com/ruslansever

In this Prime Talk Podcast Sponsored by GETIDA – Vincenzo Toscano - Founder and CEO of Ecomcy talks about his journey from starting as a Rolls-Royce engineer to becoming an Amazon Seller and also more information about his life's journey. #VincenzoToscano #ecommerceseller About Vincenzo Toscano of Ecomcy - https://www.ecomcy.com/  Ecomcy is a team of Amazon marketing experts in the UK (London) who has helped companies who would rather not invest substantial time, effort, and resources into becoming marketing experts or PPC consultants for Amazon but instead want to leverage our significant experience to do things right the first time. Our marketing experts will help you achieve your sales goals on Amazon's platform. Find out more about GETIDA: https://getida.com/ Please subscribe to our channel and share your thoughts and comments below. Stay safe and healthy in the meantime!

Trish Discord is an artist and songwriter with a focus on writing music that feels very catchy yet at the same time quite personal. This talented singer is quite known for her unapologetic sound and her ability to make music that is not only fun and energetic but also thought-provoking. In addition to making her original music, she is also quite well known for the cover songs that she is posting on her YouTube channel, creating soaring rock versions of songs by artists as diverse as Halsey, The Cranberries, and Mitski, and more! This is most definitely what you can expect from her most recent release, "The Aftermath of 2016." As the title implies, this is a very personal and dynamic piece of music, which features songs that are deeply tied to Trish Discord's own life and experiences, especially at a given moment in time. This release is deeply tied to the alternative rock genre, but there is definitely a lot more to it than that. As they say, indie rock music is primarily all about personality and storytelling, and Trish is a larger-than-life character who definitely stands out. As a result, her music is all the more intriguing and forward-thinking, making for a deeper connection with the audience. The artist's most recent release, "The Aftermath of 2016", has a very energetic vibe to it, but there is also a melodic side to the arrangement, which definitely makes for a catchier approach. One of the songs on this album called “Crashing" explores a more indie direction: think more anthemic, big, and even hopeful, with a sound that's diverse and broad, showcasing Trish's ability to let different genres coexist on this album. Trish is a skilful performer, and she definitely managed to capture some lightning in a bottle with this fantastic new release! As far as alt-rock goes, this new material stands out as a perfect example of what it means to bring a breath of fresh air into this genre. "In Another Life," for example is an alternative rock anthem with a flavour that will take you back to the golden age of the genre, tipping the hat off to artists like Linkin Park in their prime. Musically the songs are even more poignant and dynamic, embracing this spirit to perfection. One of the most iconic tracks on the album is perhaps the lead single, "Strife," which centres around the narrative of Trish's own experiences as an ex-pat. As an American student in the UK (London) trying to get a work visa, she has experienced quite some challenges! The politically-charged single remains a very special moment on this album and one of its most distinctive moments. The song "23" is definitely one of the most touching and personal tracks on the album, and it is all about realizing that it's time for a life change and getting rid of toxic relationships! The song, "Desire," has a very raw and energetic sound, reminiscent of pop-punk acts like Paramore. It's also an emotional track with a very passionate flow. That said, every song has something special to offer, and the entire release is exciting, mercurial, and incredibly immersive from the first to the last tune. "I Can't-Wait to Forget You" has a melodic yet very electrifying sound, and the intensity of the instrumental really matches the topic and the lyrics, dealing with being angry at someone you are infatuated with and wanting to get over them. The album progresses smoothly with the tune "Take Me Away," which is an ode to living to the fullest and embracing every moment. The artist can personally relate to this, as she turned to the "carpe diem" philosophy to escape from the fact that she couldn't stay in the UK after Brexit for visa reasons. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Series 6 Episode 2 Welcome to the new  Season Six Episode Two of Lushea Wonders Why Podcast. Season Six is fused with discussions based on ‘Creativity and Communications' adding some extra food for thoughts with Collaborations inside the UK. Mr Cee is a professional Comedian, whom is from the UK-London but also wears other hats such as being Actor, Host and Presenter. Mr Cee has been credited in supporting Comedians Kevin Hart, Curtis Walker, Gina Yashere and many more along with creating his own & producing shows which has been aired on British Tv. Mr Cee shares his thoughts, opinions and stories on how  effective communication can influence and inspire a person status. Effective communication can enhance how a person is perceived and how they choose to be productive, in line with non-effective communication. Building positive relationships with people and maintaining a trust management can help develop a person's attitude and behaviour in how they choose to communicate. However, as our minds are so complex and we are all given a form of status by default, it is important that we investigate how to listen to our inner voice.  Mr Cee and I explore various perspectives of discussing how effective communication can influence and inspire a person's status.  Mr Cee  and I share many laughter moments but also allow the conversation to be kept honest and open minded. Our discussion is blunt but factual- Hope you enjoy! PLEASE BE SURE TO FIND SEASON 6 EP 1 on Youtube ( Visual Podcast) To connect with me, you can find me on socials: Instagram Officiallusheasoul or Twitter : LusheaT , email:lushea@hotmail.com (Insta: Mrceecomedian) (Facebook: CeeStylee)

Эфир от 16.04.2006 Долгие годы с вами встречался в эфире различных р/ст, но "Maximum" и "Electroshock", это однозначно венец моей карьеры на радио.

 8 лет мы распечатывали уик-энд самыми горячими танцевальными релзами недели, а гостями становились звезды мировых танцполов. 
 Шоу шагнуло далеко за границы сети вещания "Maximum" и транслировалось еще на 20-ти р/ст нашей страны, и не только! Грузия, Армения, Украина, Казахстан и даже США (русскоязычный вещатель).
 Со своими слушателями я встречался в рамках тура на "Electroshock Party" в городах вещания и фестивалях: Kazantip, GES, AZOV. Конференциях в Сочи. Так как сеть вещания была большая, то в шоу были и большие гости! Dedmau5, Prodigy, Avicii и можно долго перечислять имена. Я был спокоен за записи шоу, ведь все они были в одном месте, на эксклюзиве и пользовались огромной популярностью, но случалось так, как случилось…Архив был безвозвратно удален из-за сбоя в 2017г. 

 Признаюсь, переживал и мне это не давало покоя... Практически смирился, но полгода назад один мой радиослушатель сообщил, что у него есть записи радио-шоу за 2,5 года (2011,2012 и часть 2013), а чуть позже случайно нашлись и ранние выпуски 2006,07 гг. 

 Забрезжила надежда хотя бы частично восстановить "Electroshock"! Теперь совместно с "PROMODJ" , как в старые добрые времена мы опять вместе! Начиная с 23 мая, еженедельно на главной странице сайта будут публиковаться записи программы и надеюсь попутно, благодаря вам, будет пополняться архив все "новыми" выпусками. Поэтому, если у вас завалялись записи моего радиошоу - обязательно отправляйте! 

 А теперь, друзья, вы либо откроете для себя, либо вспомните то, как начинался EDM и то каким был тогда мир. Добро пожаловать на "Electroshock"!

Эфир от 18.03.2006 Долгие годы с вами встречался в эфире различных р/ст, но "Maximum" и "Electroshock", это однозначно венец моей карьеры на радио.

 8 лет мы распечатывали уик-энд самыми горячими танцевальными релзами недели, а гостями становились звезды мировых танцполов. 
 Шоу шагнуло далеко за границы сети вещания "Maximum" и транслировалось еще на 20-ти р/ст нашей страны, и не только! Грузия, Армения, Украина, Казахстан и даже США (русскоязычный вещатель).
 Со своими слушателями я встречался в рамках тура на "Electroshock Party" в городах вещания и фестивалях: Kazantip, GES, AZOV. Конференциях в Сочи. Так как сеть вещания была большая, то в шоу были и большие гости! Dedmau5, Prodigy, Avicii и можно долго перечислять имена. Я был спокоен за записи шоу, ведь все они были в одном месте, на эксклюзиве и пользовались огромной популярностью, но случалось так, как случилось…Архив был безвозвратно удален из-за сбоя в 2017г. 

 Признаюсь, переживал и мне это не давало покоя... Практически смирился, но полгода назад один мой радиослушатель сообщил, что у него есть записи радио-шоу за 2,5 года (2011,2012 и часть 2013), а чуть позже случайно нашлись и ранние выпуски 2006,07 гг. 

 Забрезжила надежда хотя бы частично восстановить "Electroshock"! Теперь совместно с "PROMODJ" , как в старые добрые времена мы опять вместе! Начиная с 23 мая, еженедельно на главной странице сайта будут публиковаться записи программы и надеюсь попутно, благодаря вам, будет пополняться архив все "новыми" выпусками. Поэтому, если у вас завалялись записи моего радиошоу - обязательно отправляйте! 

 А теперь, друзья, вы либо откроете для себя, либо вспомните то, как начинался EDM и то каким был тогда мир. Добро пожаловать на "Electroshock"!

Live recording May 12 2022 progressive house set.For mad man Jack :)Tracklist Title  | Artist 1  | Drown (Massano Remix)  | Juan Hansen & Øosti 2  | System (Original Mix)  | Massano 3  | Oxygen Levels Low (Original Mix)  | Colyn 4  | The Light (Extended)  | Diode Eins 5  | Running feat. Meg Myers (Original Mix)  | Anyma (ofc) 6  | My Heart (Jerome Isma-Ae Remix)  | Carsten Halm 7  | He's All I Want (Planet 23 & Angel.i.n.o 2021 Remix)  | Paul Oakenfold, Angelmoon, Angel.I.N.O & Planet 23 8  | Rush (Miss Monique Extended Remix)  | Sied van Riel 9  | Under The Sun (Extended Mix)  | Franky Wah & AR/CO 10  | Carnaval de Paris (Extended Mix)  | CID 11  | La Danza (Extended Mix)  | John Summit 12  | Sandstorm (Extended Mix)  | Freejak 13  | Savage (Extended Mix)  | Tiesto & Deorro 14  | Offshore (Extended Mix)  | Armin van Buuren, Chicane & AVIRA 15  | Midnight (The Hanging Tree) [MK Remix] (Extended)  | HOSH, Jalja, 1979EnjoyDJ Hyphendjhyphen@hotmail.comLike and share - www.djhyphen.com

Special re-broadcast from September 16, 2020 with singer/songwriter/guitarist from the UK Bryan Robinson talks about his release “Salvation Belle” including the single “Comfortable Silence” plus how he got started in music at 9 playing guitar along with playing in various band plus studying jazz at Leeds College, and his experience teaching music to disadvantaged students for 9 years and serving in a prison ministry! Find out more about the amazing Bryan Robinson on all streaming platforms and www.bryanrobinson.co.uk ! #bryanrobinson #singer #songwriter #guitarist #UK #London #salvationbelle #comfortablesilence #jazz #LeedsCollege #disadvantagedstudents #prisonministry #amazon #audible #iheartradio #spreaker #spotify #itunes #googleplay #applemusic #youtube #podbean #anchorfm #mikewagner #themikewagnershow #mikewagnerbryanrobinson #themikewagnershowbryanrobinson --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/themikewagnershow/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/themikewagnershow/support

Special re-broadcast from September 16, 2020 with singer/songwriter/guitarist from the UK Bryan Robinson talks about his release “Salvation Belle” including the single “Comfortable Silence” plus how he got started in music at 9 playing guitar along with playing in various band plus studying jazz at Leeds College, and his experience teaching music to disadvantaged students for 9 years and serving in a prison ministry! Find out more about the amazing Bryan Robinson on all streaming platforms and www.bryanrobinson.co.uk ! #bryanrobinson #singer #songwriter #guitarist #UK #London #salvationbelle #comfortablesilence #jazz #LeedsCollege #disadvantagedstudents #prisonministry #amazon #audible #iheartradio #spreaker #spotify #itunes #googleplay #applemusic #youtube #podbean #anchorfm #mikewagner #themikewagnershow #mikewagnerbryanrobinson #themikewagnershowbryanrobinson --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/themikewagnershow/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/themikewagnershow/support

Special re-broadcast from September 16, 2020 with singer/songwriter/guitarist from the UK Bryan Robinson talks about his release “Salvation Belle” including the single “Comfortable Silence” plus how he got started in music at 9 playing guitar along with playing in various band plus studying jazz at Leeds College, and his experience teaching music to disadvantaged students for 9 years and serving in a prison ministry! Find out more about the amazing Bryan Robinson on all streaming platforms and www.bryanrobinson.co.uk ! #bryanrobinson #singer #songwriter #guitarist #UK #London #salvationbelle #comfortablesilence #jazz #LeedsCollege #disadvantagedstudents #prisonministry #amazon #audible #iheartradio #spreaker #spotify #itunes #googleplay #applemusic #youtube #podbean #anchorfm #mikewagner #themikewagnershow #mikewagnerbryanrobinson #themikewagnershowbryanrobinson

Series 5 Episode 5 Welcome to Season Five Episode Five of Lushea Wonders Why Podcast. Season Five is fused with discussions based on ‘Attitudes and Behaviours' adding some extra food for thoughts with Collaborations outside and inside the UK. Michael Brown AKA Randy from Big Brovaz is an award winning writer and performer from the British R&B group named ‘Big Brovaz', whom is from the UK-London. Michael shares his thoughts and opinions and stories on the impacts and ways in which clothing impact his way thinking. How we dress professionally and personally can create a status and/or perception about ourselves and others. How we choose to wear our clothing  can hinder, inspire or create judgements, change our thought in thinking also know as ‘Enclothed Cognition'. The underline focus links to our frame of mind ,and if we value ourselves internally or externally. Clothing can impact how we feel and it can affect our confidence, attitude or dictate power and respect. Nevertheless, the importance of not losing yourself, regarding whatever you choose to wear, keeping your integrity can provide self-validation, and allows you to be approachable. Words enhances our feelings but so can what we wear do also. Social media is fast paced, and can dominate many in what is the trend. “look good, feel great”  is a psychological process that includes the choice in how we behave ( based  on what we wear and how we are perceived in it). But does what we wear measure the intelligence we have as an individual or does it carry a good false pretence. Nevertheless, life is not easy and so what we choose to wear can hinder or hurt us also. Enclothed cognition is an intense topic. Our discussion is blunt but factual- Hope you enjoy! To connect with me, you can find me on socials: Instagram Officiallusheasoul or Twitter : LusheaT , email:lushea@hotmail.com (Insta: Randy_bigbrovaz) Bigbrovaz.co.uk

Dog Wax 033 First half is full of UK - London producers from back in 2015 when I was getting to find my own sound on the House scene. These producers you can still find featured in more current shows with more current material. 1. Hear Me out - T.F.T/Nick Edwards 2. Mindset - St Demetrius 3. Colours - Kadey James 4. Forest - Venomous 5. Release - Zac B 6. On The Clock - Mykee Phunkee 7. Full Moon Effect - Boski (Remix) 8. Game Plan - Pathogen Beats 9. Vamos - Wrighteous 10. RKO - Mike White/Realness Mix 11. Say The word - Joyce Muniz (remix) 12. Bullfrog - Mark Jenkyns & Luca Cazal 13. H.O.U.S.E (edit) - Carnao Beats 14. Squeeze Me - Max Chapman & No Artificial Colours 15. Safari - Mark Canton (remix)

On this week's episode Randall speaks with Monica Garrison, Founder, Executive Director, and Chief Storyteller of Black Girls Do Bike. BGDB's mission is to introduce women and girls to the joys of cycling, with an emphasis on those of color who are often less-represented in the cycling community. With 30K+ members spread over 100+ chapters, BGDB is rolling proof of the bicycle's potential as a vehicle for connection and an example we hope to learn from and collaborate with as we evolve our own efforts toward building community. Black Girls Do Bike Support the Podcast Join The Ridership  Automated Transcription, please excuse the typos: Monica Garrison - Final [00:00:00] Randall R. Jacobs: Welcome to the Gravel Ride podcast. I'm today's host Randall Jacobs. And with me is Monica Garrison monica is the founder executive director and chief storyteller of black girls do bike and organization she founded in 2013 and has grown to a hundred plus chapters worldwide black girls do bike.org is where you can find more about her organism. She's also a skilled professional photographer and videographer whose work you can find on her personal website, Monica godfrey.com, Godfrey being her maiden name. And with that, I'd like to bring my friend Monica Garrison to join us here. So Monica, welcome to the podcast. [00:00:35] Monica Garrison: Hello. Hello. Happy to be here. Thanks for having. [00:00:39] Randall R. Jacobs: Absolutely. It's been a while in the making. So let's dive right in. What were your motivations for starting black girls do bike. [00:00:46] Monica Garrison: Black grocery bike came from a place of longing for community. I was, um, discovering my joy of, or my love of cycling in the summer spring of 2013. And after a few months of writing and, you know, discovering my city in a new way and spending time with my kids, um, at the end of all that I realized that I didn't see many women who look like me on, on bikes in my town. And so. You know, these women are either out there and I, I can't find them or that they don't exist and they need to know about how great cycling is because I have found cycling to be very, um, healing in a lot of ways, you know, mentally healing, obviously physically healing. Um, and so when I went to the internet to find these women, I, I didn't really find, um, good representation of women, of color on bikes. And so. That was, that was the birth. The Genesis of black girls do bike. It was, it was like, well, let's create this space and invite women into it and see what happens. And, um, and the rest is history. [00:01:52] Randall R. Jacobs: And your base. [00:01:54] Monica Garrison: I'm in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. [00:01:56] Randall R. Jacobs: And it sounds like this was a very personal for you, but so before we dive into the organization, I want to talk, I want to hear more about your personal journey with the bike. [00:02:04] Monica Garrison: I mean, I, I think like most people I wrote as a child, I spent my summers on my bike with my brother around my Pittsburgh neighborhood Lincoln. Lymington where I grew up. And and so it was a big part of my childhood. And then I think like most, most women may. We just stopped riding and at some point, and and then when you get to a point where. The burdens of life kind of catch up with you and you're looking for ways to ease those, those burdens. You look hopefully to exercise or to some other outlet. And, um, for me having all those good memories of riding my bike and feeling stress-free, um, I turned to, I turned to cycling. But it was, it was cool because I started to connect with like Pittsburgh, which was our local bike that, that organization here. And I discovered, you know, this great community of, of bike advocates and people of all sizes and genders and, um, who just wanted to ride their bike carefree and, and do it safely. And so that opened up a lot of possibilities, um, as to what riding even meant for me here. And. [00:03:09] Randall R. Jacobs: What was your, what was your first bike? And how'd you come about it. [00:03:12] Monica Garrison: Um, the very first bike like [00:03:15] Randall R. Jacobs: Yeah, well going, going back to your, your most recent journey back onto two wheels. [00:03:20] Monica Garrison: Yeah. So I, I did, um, I think what everyone in my generation does, I just. Like crazy online to figure out what kind of bike I need it. And I decided that there was, it was Bita was the name of it, maybe by specialized and it just seemed perfect. And then in the styling was right up my alley. So I'm just like a hybrid commuter type bike. Um, but it was the perfect tool to get me back on my bike because it was so versatile. I could ride on any type of terrain and it was very comforting. Um, despite the small seat, I was apprehensive that it would actually be comfortable, but it, it really was. And, um, yeah, so that bite got me through that first year. And because I was so obsessed with cycling by the end of that first year, um, I added another bike to my stable by the second, you know, the following summer, more of a road bike, um, drop bars to, you know, help me with the speed and even more, it was even more comfortable. So there you go. [00:04:20] Randall R. Jacobs: So that Vita if it was a 2013 or 2014, um, I would have had a hand in it cause I was at specialized and that was one of the bikes under, um, I wasn't the product manager, but I would have been doing the bill of materials and um, the supply chain stuff for that bike. Yeah. So, so I know that bike reasonably well. Yeah. [00:04:38] Monica Garrison: Yeah. Yeah. No, it was great. It was a great bike and I, when I finally sold it, I sold it to someone like it was, it was a good cause I knew they needed that bike at that time. But I really didn't want to let it go because it is really, it was really a great bike. [00:04:53] Randall R. Jacobs: Yeah, it's, [00:04:54] Monica Garrison: still recommend to people today. They're like, what should I start on? I'm like, well, I started on the visa and I loved it. Um, and then, you know, there are other bikes that are comparable across all the brands, but, um, yeah, that bike, that bike stole my heart. [00:05:08] Randall R. Jacobs: Well, and that sort of machine, you know, they, you, you can, you know, they go up into the, a couple of thousands, but you can get an entry-level one at around 500 bucks or so. And it's a fine machine for getting off the ground. And that's, I think that that accessibility is a real critical, um, area of our sport that, that. No, it needs to be addressed. We have a lot of people in our community that are riding, you know, fancy superbikes, but you have to get a start somewhere. [00:05:32] Monica Garrison: Yeah, for sure. and I had done, like I had done the cheaper bikes and I knew all the things, you know, in terms of comfort and durability that. And so I said, I'm going to invest in myself. Right. I'm going to do this. If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it. Right. So I, um, so I was like, yeah, $500 is worth the investment. If it gives me a machine. that does what I needed to do and it ended up being a great investment for sure. [00:05:59] Randall R. Jacobs: And what were some of the earliest rides you went on? What was that experience like? [00:06:03] Monica Garrison: Um, there's a great trail in Pittsburgh called the Eliza furnace trail. And, um, [00:06:09] Randall R. Jacobs: I've been on that [00:06:10] Monica Garrison: it runs along. Yeah. Yeah. It's um, it runs along our Parkway and then it's, you know, circled, it goes in lots of directions. It's, it's actually pretty cool. It runs past our county jail. Um, it and it runs to the south side of town, which has great great culture over there. So yeah, the olanzapine trail. is pretty cool. It's actually still my favorite trail. Um, and then. When I, when I would ride with the kids, we were always looking for like, you know, kid friendly. So I spent a lot of times, a lot of time on the trails because I wanted my kids to come along with me. And, um, obviously I didn't want to take them onto the roads. So I got really familiar with that. And then I grew up in east Liberty, that part of town. Um, and there are a lot of things to bike Pittsburgh. There are a lot of bike lanes there now, which are. Pretty conducive to getting around town without having to interact too much with traffic. So, um, so that's probably my favorite part of the town to ride in. [00:07:07] Randall R. Jacobs: Yeah, I've been visiting Pittsburgh for like 15 years or so. And the amount of investments in the downtown and broader infrastructure and so on with bike being part of that has been it's been quite transformative in that area. So very cool to hear that you've been taking advantage. [00:07:21] Monica Garrison: pretty sure. [00:07:23] Randall R. Jacobs: And how old were your kids at the time? And th this is we're talking like early 2010. [00:07:27] Monica Garrison: Yeah, right. So my youngest, I taught him the ride at four. So he was probably four, my daughter's three years older. So she was seven. So four year old and a seven year old. And we're like killing it around Pittsburgh, on our bikes. Yeah. [00:07:41] Randall R. Jacobs: That's great. Yeah. Um, I have a niece and a couple of nephews that I live with in a few nephews next door. So kind of same thing for 6, 7, 8. And it's just really wonderful to have that experience. It kind of slows you down a little bit, I would imagine. [00:07:58] Monica Garrison: Yeah. Yeah. It's a different type of ride. But it's but it's invaluable in so many other ways, so it's cool. [00:08:06] Randall R. Jacobs: So tell me about some of your first big group rides with other adults. [00:08:09] Monica Garrison: Um, I think my first, I don't do a lot of group rides even to this day, to be honest with you. Um, cycling is in a lot of ways, a solo sport for me which is kind of ironic because I created this organization encouraging people to ride together and to appreciate the power of that. But yeah, in all honesty, I don't, I don't do a lot of group breads. I will say my, my favorite thing to do here in Pittsburgh, that feels like a groove ride, but it, so, so isn't um, is our open streets, um, series that we have throughout the summer. So they, they shut down miles and miles of streets here. And, you know, you can just be on the, on the open roads with other cyclists and rollerbladers and, um, All kinds of other people on transportation and the it shops are open, you know, everything's open. And, um, that, that sense of community is, is great. And it gets people on bikes who wouldn't normally be, and it gets them in, in an environment that they wouldn't normally be. So then they start to see. What's possible. And that's why I like that event so much, because once you experience it, you're like, oh, why can't we have this more often? You know, what's holding us back. And so I think it gets people's wheels turning into the possibilities of what, you know, open streets could really be. [00:09:32] Randall R. Jacobs: Yeah, I think the us is generally behind say a lot of European countries with regards to like cycling as a modality for transportation and recreation and so on, but you kind of hit a tipping point around, um, like 5%. Utilization of bikes versus other modes where the infrastructure comes into play and drivers are getting used to cyclists on the road, and you have a critical mass of people who are pushing for more open streets, more bike pads and things like that. Um, my guess is that Pittsburgh has hit that tipping point. Is there significant more like additional investment happening or [00:10:08] Monica Garrison: yeah. for sure. For sure. We we've had, um, for the last two last two terms, we've had the political power behind change, which has been helpful. Um, and so when folks are at the top are agreeable, you seem to get a lot more done. [00:10:27] Randall R. Jacobs: Yeah, for sure. Well, so then let's dive into, um, you know, how, how far, how many years into your ride? Did you decide? Okay. Um, I don't see enough people who look like me and I want to motivate them. I'm going to start an organization. How did that come about? [00:10:43] Monica Garrison: Yeah, it really wasn't immediate. Like, um, I realized that we were missing from the tapestry of my city pretty quickly. And, um, within, within months of me taking that first ride, I, I set up the Facebook page for black girls, Dubai. And, um, and then within a couple of months I said, this might be a thing, so I should probably get the domain. So the website came soon after and, um, I think I have to go back and look because the first chapter did not start in Pittsburgh. It actually started in Florida, a lady contacted me and said, I want to create this in my town. Would you be on board? And we worked through the process of creating the first chapter, but, um, Yeah, it was, it was almost the thought came to me immediately. And then it just took some time to figure out if it existed. Cause I don't want to duplicate someone else's work. Um, and there was, there was a group in the sea of black women on bikes, um, and they had had done a great job. It seemed to like galvanizing women of color in DC around cycling. And I thought, you know, that could, that could be, that could be worldwide, not just in DC. And So um, I started down the path of seeking women all over the country who shared this love of cycling. [00:12:06] Randall R. Jacobs: So started in Florida. And then what were the, what were the next chapters and how did that, was it, was it also organic people reaching out to you or was it more proactive or a mix of the two. [00:12:18] Monica Garrison: Um, it it's always been people reaching out to me. I think we created a page that was dedicated to showcasing what chapters we had and also giving folks steps they needed to follow to, to reach out if they felt they met the criteria to lead a group of black girls or like, um, women. So uh, so it was always we're, we're looking for. And I didn't really solicit at all. Other beyond that. And the first few chapters were major cities, as you can imagine, like Los Angeles has been, um, almost one of our founding chapters, Atlanta. We were in Texas pretty quickly. So our Houston chapter, I think was the first one in Texas, but we've since expanded to almost all the big cities. Um, yeah, just, it was like a domino effect. Once people realize that they could duplicate what we had done in their towns, they were very excited. And so we were just like, here, here are the tools you need, and we'll give you the platform to let people know that you exist and let's see what happens. [00:13:24] Randall R. Jacobs: So then from there, you've got this, you know, rapidly kind of self accumulating snowball of interest and people reaching out, wanting to start their own chapters. How did it evolve from there? And, um, what sorts of opportunities emerged as, as that started to grow and become a more visible. [00:13:41] Monica Garrison: Yeah, I think I remember so the first time I showed up at the national bike summit in DC. Which was, I believe the second year into this process. So folks had started to hear about us. Um, and I was like VIP at the bike summit. Like everyone knew who I was, folks were coming up to me and they were like, let's connect. We need to, you know, we need to help you grow this. And so out of that excitement, Because that's a meeting of the, you know, the greatest advocate minds of the, of the bike, um, community. And so out of that, you know, we're just kind of spread. And then I think within another year or two, um, I was part of the keynote panel speaking at the bike summit. Um, so that was, that was just crazy. And, and then beyond that, obviously, because of the numbers of women who are, who we consider members. Um, we started to get noticed, you know, through our Instagram page. So some of the bike brands started to reach out to us, which was never, never even something I anticipated would happen. But, um, but I think it was just hard to ignore us because we were growing so fast and, and hopefully the content was was so compelling that they just couldn't couldn't ignore us. And, um, And so it just kind of, like you said, it was, it was, it was a snowball at that point and it kept gaining momentum even to this day. Like, you know, I did a project with Ford, um, just a few months ago and that's like, that's probably the biggest of the big and. It was a whirlwind. I don't even know how it happened. They were just like, be here at this time and do this thing and we'll make, we'll make some magic and they did. So, so when you talk about opportunities, like, you know, I couldn't have imagined that I would be in a spot talking to the, you know, the folks at Ford. that. was pretty cool. [00:15:36] Randall R. Jacobs: When I thought that, that, that, um, that ad was pretty interesting too. Not just because it showcased you and black girls do bike, but then also it's like, um, black women in outdoors generally. And I think it was the, the, the, um, their new pickup truck. Am I right? [00:15:51] Monica Garrison: Yeah. The Bronco. [00:15:53] Randall R. Jacobs: Yeah. Okay. So, um, yeah, I thought that that was really well done. And I, when I saw you posted up on your pages so then we, so here we're at, um, so now you're at a hundred or so chapters, including some international, where are you? International chapters? [00:16:09] Monica Garrison: The biggest one is London. We have a UK London, UK chapter as of the end of 2021. They came on the scene. Um, And then we have we have a chapter in the Caribbean, but they've actually been with us for probably five years. Um, and then I like to brag, I realized Alaska is part of the U S but we have an Anchorage Alaska chapter, which still blows my mind. So, but that shows, you know, the depth and breadth of the organization, you know, London and Tega and anchors, Alaska. [00:16:37] Randall R. Jacobs: And so then, so you have all these chapters, mostly around the U S but, but you've started getting interest from people wanting to start another international cities. I'm curious, like, what are some of the archetypes of people? What types of things. Come into your organization in terms of their relationship to the bike and backgrounds and things like this. And how did, how did they find you? [00:16:57] Monica Garrison: Yeah, so it varies. I I'd say we have everyone from like, you know, the 20 something in college who, you know, is riding her bike to get around campus. And she discovers us to the. 50 plus a woman who, you know, has a career, kids are out of the house and she's got lots of free time. And, um, and she's either discovering cycling, or she's been a casual rider and she wants to take it more seriously to, you? know, um, deal with her health, mental health, physical health, all those things, um, and everything. And everyone in between, to be honest with you, um, I mean, we even have riders who don't know how to ride and some of our sheroes are literally holding their hands. And teaching them how to ride so that they can then join the group to ride. So it really, it really is a spectrum. [00:17:50] Randall R. Jacobs: And this, this term Shiro that you just use, um, this is the toy, a term that you coined. I hadn't heard it before. [00:17:55] Monica Garrison: Yeah. I, I think I coined it, but I hear it a lot now. So then part of me is like, maybe it was always there And, I just, you know, pick that up somewhere. But, um, but it was to play a play on the word hero and and, and I didn't really like the way heroin sounded. So I was like, let's make it cheer. Let's make it chiro. Um, yeah. And it stuck. So [00:18:18] Randall R. Jacobs: and is this a formal, is this a formal role within the broader community? [00:18:23] Monica Garrison: yeah. So, so all the women across the, the org that volunteer to lead, those are our sheroes. Um, and some, some groups only have one leader and then there can be Koshi Euro. So sometimes there's a group of four or more, um, who handle all the responsibilities. And then we have ride leaders, which is probably the only other title in the organization. Those are people who, you know, don't want to necessarily have the responsibility that she wrote, but they want to support in that, you know, that's the best way that they can support. [00:18:51] Randall R. Jacobs: Well, and this flow is very natural. My next question, which is talk to me about the structure of the organization and both in terms of how it's run, um, and like the organizational structure, but then also in terms of its. [00:19:04] Monica Garrison: Yeah. So I am in a lot of ways, a one woman show. I mean these eight years I've. I've handled the logistics of running the shop. Cause we have a really vibrant shop full of gear. All of our social media posts, those, um, messages myself. And then as you can imagine, all the backend things that come with promoting the organization. You know, learning new skills so that we can enter into other interesting ways of talking about cycling and women in cycling. Um, so yeah, so I'm, I guess I'm the only employee of black girls do bike. Um, our, she rose our volunteer. And, um, you know, there are certain perks that they take advantage of because they hold that she wrote a role. So anytime I commit to something with a company or an organization, I'm looking for ways to, you know, send some perks there way for the, for the hard work that they do. Um, we are as a, we're a nonprofit organization. And, um, so. Us to seek donations from private and public entities. And that that's fairly new for us. We've, we've actually not operated as a nonprofit until just the last 12 months or so. So we're, we're growing into that role, what that means. And, um, we're fiscally sponsored by a company called players philanthropy fund. That's a mouthful. Um, but they're great. So they handle all of our, um, all of our backend legal. And accounting thing. So that's, that's, that's the makeup of York. [00:20:40] Randall R. Jacobs: Got it. And, um, in terms of like funding, so what sorts of organizations tend to like, how does, how are you currently funded? Is it a mix of organization and. Dues, primarily membership. How does, how does that work out? [00:20:53] Monica Garrison: So ironically, our we've always. So I'm proud of the fact that we don't take membership dues. We just want you to show up and ride. So we are funded primarily through our shop, which I mentioned. Um, I put a lot of, even from the beginning, I've put a lot of energy into. Um, making our, our gear and our swag unique and stand out? and be appealing because I want these women to, you know, even if they feel like they don't fit into the cycling community, I want them to show up and look great so that they feel great. Right. So if they show up to a ride, I want them to feel like they fit. Um, and sometimes cycling kid is, is the way to fit in. Right? So we, so we do those, we do t-shirts and all those other things. Um, we have some great partners. We partner right now with track and USA cycling and REI has been a strong, strong partner for. [00:21:49] Randall R. Jacobs: Hmm. [00:21:50] Monica Garrison: Probably more than five years now. They've been, they've been with us almost since the beginning and supporting them in multiple ways. So they're probably our longest partner. So those partnerships, you know, usually come with some sort, some sort of monetary support. And then, as I said, we're transitioned to a nonprofit. So just in the last year and a half, I spent a lot of energy, um, attempting to secure grants and that's that's all new to me, but, but we've had a really good year and I'd say our success rate is pretty high. So, um, yeah. So, so the shop sponsorships And grants are three, um, funnels of income. [00:22:29] Randall R. Jacobs: And then for our listeners, if there's anyone who's interested in supporting what you do, what's the best way to get a hold. [00:22:35] Monica Garrison: Oh sure. Um, just probably our website, black girls do bike.org. Um, and there's a, there's a donate button there, but there's also, if you go to our if you go through the page, you'll see lots of examples of, you know, what, what we, what we've accomplished really in the last eight years. And, um, and what we expect to accomplish going forward. [00:22:57] Randall R. Jacobs: Yeah. And I can say just as an outside observer, who's only had the opportunity to get to know you over the past couple of months as we've been chatting. Um, it's, it's very. What have you been able to pull off? And as you know, we've talked about the ridership, which is an online community that we're building and, you know, looking at it from afar, what you do and the degree of in-person community that you've been able to facilitate. Um, it's yeah, it's very admirable, very admirable. Um, so now I'm curious. [00:23:27] Monica Garrison: a lot of, a lot of other people. [00:23:29] Randall R. Jacobs: Well, and, and it's only recently that you have taken a salary, is that right? Like you were, you were funding this out of your own pocket or out of your own time until fairly recently. [00:23:40] Monica Garrison: I mean, what I've, what I've always said is we were, we were a for-profit company with philanthropic intentions. So the goal was always just to, just to invest, reinvest, to grow growth was, was always the purpose. Um, and so if there was some leftover, certainly I would pay myself, but only until recently. Yeah. So that we're structured as a non-profit and I'm the executive director now. So I'm able to, you know, formally, um, be paid for the time that I put in. [00:24:08] Randall R. Jacobs: Yeah. And there's a lot that you do that. I mean, you're a professional photographer and videographer, so you're doing pretty much all of your content, right? In addition to seeking grants and collaborations and coordinating with a hundred different chapters around the world and trying to grow, that's a, that's a full-time job for anybody. [00:24:27] Monica Garrison: for sure. [00:24:28] Randall R. Jacobs: Um, so then let's talk about, I'm curious to hear more about the various collaborations that your organizations and. Um, whether it be with companies or with other writing communities. So tell me more about that. [00:24:41] Monica Garrison: Yeah, I think, um, each collaboration is slightly different. Um, I know REI there focuses on the outdoors and, um, so they're always looking for a ways and it's not just us, they've partnered with, I think there are nine other organizations right now that. they're re re really focusing in on, um, who all encourage you know, marginalized communities to get outdoors and, and to feel safe in the. Um, and that's something that's, you know, kind of near and dear to me because I also beyond cycling, I love to hike and, um, I love the outdoors and camping and those things. Um, but so their partnership has always been what, what do you need to be successful? And it's funny because their, their support has more because when it started, it was, you know, will these funds help you? Yes. And then it became, what do you need to do? And what can we give you to help you accomplish it? So it was more focused on us as founders and, um, and what we actually want it long-term so that, so they've committed to three three-year commitments of support. Um, and they've helped them in a plethora of other ways, um, that I, I can't even really measure, um, USA cycling. That was unique because they want it too. They're focused on racing and in diversifying racing. So they said, well, you have this audience, but how can we help, help you pull out women who. You know, in your ranks who are competitive, who want to race, but are hindered in some way. So they're not racing for various reasons. What are, what are those obstacles and how can we help you help them? Um, so that was unique. And we, we got a grant this year from Rafa, which along the lines of the racing, um, that that's been. Incredible because I always had in the back of my mind, this thought of when we got to the point where we were big enough and we were touching enough women's lives, um, could we help some, some athletes become, you know, competitive racers who either were struggling in the space or who even hadn't considered it because they knew they didn't have all the resources they needed. So with the combination of USA cycling and the, the funding that we got from. we've committed to creating at the very least, um, some, some athlete ambassadors who will represent black girls do bike and, and go, you know, go out and race in the name of black girls do bike, which on some scale, hopefully will help diversify cycling the racing, the racing team. Um, Partners. What other, even you asked about partners with our, who? Our other partners. Oh, we've been partnered just a little thing. Well, not really little thing. Little, little Bellas is a mountain biking group. When they focus strictly on getting girls on mountain bikes and, comfortable in that space, I've been a big fan of theirs for a long time. And they reached out and, said, you know, I know you have young girls in your ranks or maybe the daughters and granddaughters of the women who are riding with you camp. Are there some synergies. Where, you know, we can help you with those girls and we can, you know, get our girls, mothers and grandmothers riding with you. And, and when girls age out of little Bellas, can they transition in the black girls bike? Because we welcome all women riders, not just, you know, women of color. So that was kind of beautiful. And, um, we're still working on it, but. And a lot of ways our organizations are similar, but they're also different in a lot of ways. Um, so that that's been a challenge, but but our hearts are in the right place. And I think we are moving in a direction where we can, you know, merge or at least have these two communities communicating and sharing skills and, you know, getting better because of the connection. So just a few examples. [00:28:29] Randall R. Jacobs: well, and to be fully transparent with our audience, I've already shared this with you. But part of my motivation in bringing you on was to also start kind of exploring, like, what are the ways in which our respective communities can, you know, integrate and be supportive of each other and connect. Um, and so thinking about well, first. I'm actually very interested to hear more about kind of your premier athletes within your ranks. Cause there are some things that we might be able to do there, but then also I'd like to understand, I'd like to explore a little bit more, like how, how do your members, how many members do you have and how do they engage with you and with each other currently? [00:29:10] Monica Garrison: Yeah. So, the best kind I have is just adding up all of the women who are in our individual groups. So we have, like I said, a hundred, I think we're up to 102 chapters now. Um, so at last count we had 30,000 women in those groups. So because we don't charge membership dues, that's what I use as our membership number, because any of those women could, you know, show up or ride with us on any given day. Um, so yeah, so that's the breadth of our membership. And I'd say, I'd say, I mean, on average, if you ask our, she rose, they probably have between. 10 to 40 women show up for a given ride, right. Depending on the skill required for the ride. So, um, just to give you an idea of how many people we have actively riding on a weekly basis or a monthly basis. [00:29:59] Randall R. Jacobs: And you're communicating with your membership primarily over email or what are the different means that you use to coordinate your. [00:30:06] Monica Garrison: Yeah. So I wish I used email more. I, um, I gave up the, the, the thought of a newsletter a long time ago, but, um, I, [00:30:16] Randall R. Jacobs: It's a lot of work. [00:30:18] Monica Garrison: is a lot of work. It is, I, I did it for about a year and then I was like, there's gotta be a better way. Um, so our primary channel of communication is facing. And that's, it's been faithful from the beginning. Um, I think probably this was true eight years ago, more than it is today, but Facebook was the premier number one way to like create a community, keep them informed, you know, organize and, um, disseminate information. Like there was nothing better than Facebook. I do feel that's probably changing or will change in the next five to 10 years, but, [00:30:53] Randall R. Jacobs: we, if we have anything to do with it. Yep. [00:30:54] Monica Garrison: Um, so, so yeah, it's a, it's a, it's a web of of chapters all connected through Facebook. They each have their own pages. I am on all of those pages, so I can kind of monitor like the pulse of what's going on and what things are important and what topics are coming up. Um, And then some of our chapters, probably the more tech savvy ones have created Instagram pages. So they've ventured out a little bit and they're using. To do some of the same things they do on Facebook, but also just to have a presence on Instagram so that they can be found. So those are the main channels. [00:31:30] Randall R. Jacobs: And there's a, I'm curious, do you have some sort of, um, basic like guide to, um, how to manage the local chapters? Are there meetings that you're having with, um, all the different chapter leaders how does that get coordinate? [00:31:45] Monica Garrison: Yeah. So I have a couple of things we have. Um, I created a I guess the best way to describe it as a slideshow that I, all of our sheroes, when like, an onboarding slideshow that they all have to watch. Um, it tells all the raw happy things about black girls do bike and you know, what links are important and what perks they now qualify for and all those things. And then in order to keep everyone on the same page, I have a Facebook page dedicated, just Frishy. So we're all, all 180 plus of us are on one page. And that way I can drop a message and they all get it at the same time. And, and I use that also for feedback, like, you know, I'm thinking of dropping this new cycling kit. What do you think of the colors or whatever? I, um, I use that forum for a lot of things are, you know, we're considering. In the future, you know, what kind of perks would you want as part of a membership? Like all those questions I bounce off of them, um, in that in that arena and beyond that, um, that's, I guess that's, I guess that's the best way we organize. Um, we do have starting this year, actually. I probably should have started a long time ago, but since I was so bombarded with zoom meetings during the pandemic. I was trying not to have a black girl, Dubai zoom, by popular demand this year we, we started having probably quarterly though end up being quarterly meetings with this year. It was just to keep them, you know, abreast of what's going on. And, um, and also to get some feedback, you know, what things are, are top of mind for them. And so that that's, we've had one so far. And we, I expect have to continue that as long into the future. [00:33:29] Randall R. Jacobs: So I'm curious to dive in more. You know, obviously a topic near and dear to my heart, as we're considering how to evolve the ridership. Um, both from a dynamic standpoint and the community standpoint, but then also from a technical standpoint. Um, so you've described Facebook as kind of core to how you, um, you know, manage your organization. What are the challenges that you see with Facebook? And one of the things that you would either that you're planning on doing or would like to do, but that your current stack doesn't, you know, tech stack doesn't allow you to do. [00:34:01] Monica Garrison: Yeah. Um, I think the biggest challenge with Facebook is that everyone's not on Facebook. I mean, there are a large, large part of the population probably. Under 30, um, who have just opted out of Facebook altogether, or they only keep it so they can keep in touch with their parents and cousins. And, um, but they don't use it as their main source of entertainment information. So I, I think going forward, we're going to be missing out on those ladies because we don't really have a solution. To reaching them, um, at this point. And I, and I refuse to get on Tik TOK and dance to get, to get those lanes. So I don't have a solution yet. Another challenge is like so we have some chapters that have 2,500 women in them. Right. And then our Atlanta chapters, 2,600 ladies right now. And there are limitations on that Facebook has Facebook has implemented that you can only invite so many people to events that you post or that you create with them. Facebook. Um, I think one of those years told me 400 was the limit. Well, You know, if you have 2,600 people, you're barely, barely scratching the surface. If you can only invite 400 to your next big event. So there are some limitations and I see why they might do that. But for a group, our sides, that's, you know, that's not good for us. [00:35:24] Randall R. Jacobs: well, and you get into 400 peeper people. You need liability waivers, you need the ability to, um, You know, have other managerial structures, you need the ability to take, um, you know, payments, if there's going to be a fee for the events to, to actually fund the event. Cause 400 people were talking like, you know, porta-potties and police details and things like this in order to pull off that sort of thing. This is not a, um, a, an ad hoc group ride anymore at that time. [00:35:51] Monica Garrison: you're right. Yeah. So there's so much more involved. And I think what what's going to happen is is that Facebook. It's becoming less relevant already. We kind of can see the handwriting on the wall and, um, our potential audience is going to be left behind if we don't somehow evolve and find a way to, um, bring them in and in the tool, Facebook is a tool like even, um, advertising. So if I have a cell in the black rooms of like shop and I, and I want to reach, you know, my audience. I will tell you the price of advertising has skyrocket on Facebook. Like I used to be able to spend 50 bucks and I could hit everybody in a week, um, when we had 15,000 people. But now that you know, it's, Penny's, um, The same money I spent five years ago. It was pennies. Now the inflation rate is, is crazy. So I I've been, I've been making do, but, um, I don't, you know, there's no long-term strategy to, I don't think they're gonna bring their prices down. So I need another way. [00:36:55] Randall R. Jacobs: Yeah. Yeah. That's one of the things that we noticed when we got to a certain scale on Instagram and it wasn't a huge scale. You know, we had a few instances where we had. You know, a thousand likes for a post or something. And then all of a sudden I'm getting messages from Instagram's advertising sales team. And you know, we just said, no, we're not interested at this time. And all of a sudden our posts are getting, you know, dozens of likes. And that's when I looked at as like first off, I never liked Instagram much anyways. Um, I think that there's some good that happens there, but there's a, it can be a little bit, um, look at me, look at me. Um, and the dynamics there, aren't always healthy, but then also like, The, you know, people like yourself, people like us are bringing people to this platform. The platform is, um, getting access to their data. And then now they, and that they're monetizing that data in various. The platform is, and then now they want to be paid to access the audience that we brought to them. Um, and you know, it, the tools don't necessarily serve the needs of, of communities like ours. So we've been thinking a lot about, um, how to. Have online tools that facilitate, you know, offline community and connection and exchange and, and experiences, right. Event planning and things like this, that don't at the same time, have this kind of exploitative or extracted. Components, which seems to be very much the direction that the major platforms have taken. And that's where you see, like you've been in the ridership a little bit. I'm curious what you've you know, what you've observed. And then also, I just want to encourage our audience. If you have any questions for Monica, um, you can tag her in there and you know, she can she can, you can engage with her there, or if you have ideas or ways that you want to support what she does. But I'm kind of curious, like what, what, what you'd like to see different, um, with a next generation of tools and maybe what you've observed with us and what we get right or wrong. [00:38:50] Monica Garrison: Um, I think you guys are onto something. Um, at least when I talked to you, you realize our pain points, um, you know, you recognize our pain points maybe because we're. You know, grow this community the same way in, in similar ways. But I think, I think the biggest failing of our current system is, um, while we do grow by word of mouth I think there has to be a better way to, to organize a community online in the, the, the tools we're using now are, are good enough, but they're, they're not going to be good enough because things are changing every day and, um, Organizing the community is important and that there are many layers to that. There's finding new members, there's keeping current members satisfied. There's, you know, um, you know, bringing people together around ideas of the future of the organization. Like there, there, there are a lot of levels to it. Um, so I would say that, that I think you're on the right track. Um, and I think you realize where the failings are in the current system and. Hopefully that, you know, there are solutions on the other side. [00:40:03] Randall R. Jacobs: I can say, um, and we'll be talking about this more publicly in the upcoming months as these tools come online, but we do have a technology partner, um, for the ridership. Who's also happens to be one of the investors in, in thesis. Um, and you know, I've been, I've been in those meetings and the hope is that we'll have at least the, um, like an, like an alpha pilot sort of product that we can migrate the ridership to in the, in the upcoming months or by the summer. And this will include not just the slack line functionality that we have currently, but also the ability to organize events, including waivers and, um, you know, entrance fees and even conversations around the. You know, marketplace component, things like this. So just a matter of like how quickly the development can happen, but, um, I think there's a, another conversation for you and I to have both, um, offline in the upcoming weeks. And then maybe back here on the podcast in a few months, if we find opportunities for us to collaborate. [00:41:00] Monica Garrison: Yeah, for sure. I'm um, I'm excited about the possibilities. I know. I mean, even just being in the slack community that you have created has been beneficial, I've made some connections. I've, I've gotten some ideas, um, that have sparked, you know, other ideas. So, um, I found that valuable for sure. [00:41:18] Randall R. Jacobs: Well, and I just want to extend a very warm welcome, um, to the rest of your community that would find our community valuable, um, to come and join us. Um, it's the ridership.com. And if you'd like to reach out to me personally, you can, you can find a way to contact us through that website. And if you have ideas as to how we can do things differently, um, we definitely want to. Yeah, we've appealed early on to an audience that is much more in the kind of more hardcore enthusiast realm. I mean, it's the types of people who listen to a podcast dedicated to gravel riding. Right. So, you know, already there's, there's kind of a self-selected element to that. Yeah. Um, but, but really the, the broader motivation here is to create a place where, um, you know, really a fellowship of writers helping. And so the extent to which, um, you know, there's, there's opportunities for connection there, that's certainly something to explore. So anything else that you'd like to to talk about while we're while we're here together today? [00:42:18] Monica Garrison: Um, no, I think we hit all the major, major topics. [00:42:24] Randall R. Jacobs: All right. Well then Monica, Garrison, thank you very much for joining me. And, I really look forward to keeping the conversation going. [00:42:32] Monica Garrison: For sure. Yeah, this has been great. All of our conversations have been great, so I'm glad we were able to connect and it seems like we're going to be talking more in the future. So I look forward to it. [00:42:42] Randall: And that's going to do it for this week's edition of the gravel ride podcast. If you'd like to engage further on this topic I encourage you to join The Ridership. If you're interested in supporting the podcast, you can visit www.buymeacoffee.com/thegravelride. And finally here's the finding some dirt onto your wheels.    

Episode one hundred and thirty-nine of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Eight Miles High” by the Byrds, and the influence of jazz and Indian music on psychedelic rock. This is a long one... Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a ten-minute bonus episode available, on "Winchester Cathedral" by the New Vaudeville Band. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Resources No Mixcloud this time, as there were multiple artists with too many songs. Information on John Coltrane came from Coltrane by Ben Ratliffe, while information on Ravi Shankar came from Indian Sun: The Life and Music of Ravi Shankar by Oliver Craske. For information on the Byrds, I relied mostly on Timeless Flight Revisited by Johnny Rogan, with some information from Chris Hillman's autobiography. This dissertation looks at the influence of Slonimsky on Coltrane. All Coltrane's music is worth getting, but this 5-CD set containing Impressions is the most relevant cheap selection of his material for these purposes. This collection has the Shankar material released in the West up to 1962. And this three-CD set is a reasonable way of getting most of the Byrds' important recordings. Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript This episode is the second part of a loose trilogy of episodes set in LA in 1966. We're going to be spending a *lot* of time around LA and Hollywood for the next few months -- seven of the next thirteen episodes are based there, and there'll be more after that. But it's going to take a while to get there. This is going to be an absurdly long episode, because in order to get to LA in 1966 again, we're going to have to start off in the 1940s in New York, and take a brief detour to India. Because in order to explain this: [Excerpt: The Byrds, "Eight Miles High"] We're first going to have to explain this: [Excerpt: John Coltrane, "India (#3)"] Before we begin this, I just want to say something. This episode runs long, and covers a *lot* of musical ground, and as part of that it covers several of the most important musicians of the twentieth century -- but musicians in the fields of jazz, which is a music I know something about, but am not an expert in, and Hindustani classical music, which is very much not even close to my area of expertise. It also contains a chunk of music theory, which again, I know a little about -- but only really enough to know how much I don't know. I am going to try to get the information about these musicians right, but I want to emphasise that at times I will be straying *vastly* out of my lane, in ways that may well seem like they're minimising these musicians. I am trying to give just enough information about them to tell the story, and I would urge anyone who becomes interested in the music I talk about in the early parts of this episode to go out and find more expert sources to fill in the gap. And conversely, if you know more about these musics than I do, please forgive any inaccuracies. I am going to do my best to get all of this right, because accuracy is important, but I suspect that every single sentence in the first hour or so of this episode could be footnoted with something pointing out all the places where what I've said is only somewhat true. Also, I apologise if I mispronounce any names or words in this episode, though I've tried my best to get it right -- I've been unable to find recordings of some words and names being spoken, while with others I've heard multiple versions. To tell today's story, we're going to have to go right back to some things we looked at in the first episode, on "Flying Home". For those of you who don't remember -- which is fair enough, since that episode was more than three years ago -- in that episode we looked at a jazz record by the Benny Goodman Sextet, which was one of the earliest popular recordings to feature electric guitar: [Excerpt: The Benny Goodman Sextet, "Flying Home"] Now, we talked about quite a lot of things in that episode which have played out in later episodes, but one thing we only mentioned in passing, there or later, was a style of music called bebop. We did talk about how Charlie Christian, the guitarist on that record, was one of the innovators of that style, but we didn't really go into what it was properly. Indeed, I deliberately did not mention in that episode something that I was saving until now, because we actually heard *two* hugely influential bebop musicians in that episode,  and I was leaving the other one to talk about here. In that episode we saw how Lionel Hampton, the Benny Goodman band's vibraphone player, went on to form his own band, and how that band became one of the foundational influences for the genres that became known as jump blues and R&B. And we especially noted the saxophone solo on Hampton's remake of "Flying Home", played by Illinois Jacquet: [Excerpt: Lionel Hampton, "Flying Home"] We mentioned in that episode how Illinois Jacquet's saxophone solo there set the template for all tenor sax playing in R&B and rock and roll music for decades to come -- his honking style became quite simply how you play rock and roll or R&B saxophone, and without that solo you don't have any of the records by Fats Domino, Little Richard, the Coasters, or a dozen other acts that we discussed. But what we didn't look at in that episode is that that is a big band record, so of course there is more than just one saxophone player on it. And one of the other saxophone players on that recording is Dexter Gordon, a musician who was originally from LA. Those of you with long memories will remember that back in the first year or so of the podcast we talked a lot about the music programme at Jefferson High School in LA, and about Samuel Browne, the music teacher whose music programme gave the world the Coasters, the Penguins, the Platters, Etta James, Art Farmer, Richard Berry, Big Jay McNeely, Barry White, and more other important musicians than I can possibly name here. Gordon was yet another of Browne's students -- one who Browne regularly gave detention to, just to make him practice his scales. Gordon didn't get much chance to shine in the Lionel Hampton band, because he was only second tenor, with Jacquet taking many of the solos. But he was learning from playing in a band with Jacquet, and while Gordon didn't ever develop a honk like Jacquet's, he did adopt some of Jacquet's full tone in his own sound. There aren't many recordings of Gordon playing solos in his early years, because they coincided with the American Federation of Musicians' recording strike that we talked about in those early episodes, but he did record a few sessions in 1943 for a label small enough not to be covered by the ban, and you can hear something of Jacquet's tone in those recordings, along with the influence of Lester Young, who influenced all tenor sax players at this time: [Excerpt: Nat "King" Cole with Dexter Gordon, "I've Found a New Baby"] The piano player on that session, incidentally, is Nat "King" Cole, when he was still one of the most respected jazz pianists on the scene, before he switched primarily to vocals. And Gordon took this Jacquet-influenced tone, and used it to become the second great saxophone hero of bebop music, after Charlie Parker -- and the first great tenor sax hero of the music. I've mentioned bebop before on several occasions, but never really got into it in detail. It was a style that developed in New York in the mid to late forties, and a lot of the earliest examples of it went unrecorded thanks to that musicians' strike, but the style emphasised small groups improvising together, and expanding their sense of melody and harmony. The music prized virtuosity and musical intelligence over everything else, and was fast and jittery-sounding. The musicians would go on long, extended, improvisations, incorporating ideas both from the blues and from the modern classical music of people like Bartok and Stravinsky, which challenged conventional tonality. In particular, one aspect which became prominent in bebop music was a type of scale known as the bebop scale. In most of the music we've looked at in this podcast to this point, the scales used have been seven-note scales -- do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti- which make an octave with a second, higher, do tone. So in the scale of C major we have C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and then another C: [demonstrates] Bebop scales, on the other hand, would generally have an extra note in, making an eight-note scale, by adding in what is called a chromatic passing note. For example, a typical bebop C major scale might add in the note G#, so the scale would go C,D,E,F,G,G#, A, B, C: [demonstrates] You'd play this extra note for the most part, when moving between the two notes it's between, so in that scale you'd mostly use it when moving from G to A, or from A to G. Now I'm far from a bebop player, so this won't sound like bebop, but I can demonstrate the kind of thing if I first noodle a little scalar melody in the key of C major: [demonstrates] And then play the same thing, but adding in a G# every time I go between the G and the A in either direction: [demonstrates] That is not bebop music, but I hope you can see what a difference that chromatic passing tone makes to the melody. But again, that's not bebop, because I'm not a bebop player. Dexter Gordon, though, *was* a bebop player. He moved to New York while playing with Louis Armstrong's band, and soon became part of the bebop scene, which at the time centred around Charlie Christian, the trumpet player Dizzy Gillespie, and the alto sax player Charlie Parker, sometimes nicknamed "bird" or "Yardbird", who is often regarded as the greatest of them all. Gillespie, Parker, and Gordon also played in Billy Eckstine's big band, which gave many of the leading bebop musicians the opportunity to play in what was still the most popular idiom at the time -- you can hear Gordon have a saxophone battle with Gene Ammons on "Blowing the Blues Away" in a lineup of the band that also included Art Blakey on drums and Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet: [Excerpt: Billy Eckstine, "Blowing the Blues Away"] But Gordon was soon leading his own small band sessions, and making records for labels like Savoy, on which you can definitely hear the influence of Illinois Jacquet on his tone, even as he's playing music that's more melodically experimental by far than the jump band music of the Hampton band: [Excerpt: Dexter Gordon, "Dexter Digs In"] Basically, in the late 1940s, if you were wanting to play bebop on the saxophone, you had two models to follow -- Charlie Parker, the great alto saxophonist with his angular, atonal, melodic sense and fast, virtuosic, playing, or Dexter Gordon, the tenor saxophonist, whose style had more R&B grease and wit to it, who would quote popular melodies in his own improvisations. And John Coltrane followed both. Coltrane's first instrument was the alto sax, and when he was primarily an alto player he would copy Charlie Parker's style. When he switched to being primarily a tenor player -- though he would always continue playing both instruments, and later in his career would also play soprano sax -- he took up much of Gordon's mellower tone, though he was also influenced by other tenor players, like Lester Young, the great player with Count Basie's band, and Johnny Hodges, who played with Duke Ellington. Now, it is important to note here that John Coltrane is a very, very, big deal. Depending on your opinion of Ornette Coleman's playing, Coltrane is by most accounts either the last or penultimate truly great innovator in jazz saxophone, and arguably the single foremost figure in the music in the last half of the twentieth century. In this podcast I'm only able to tell you enough about him to give you the information you need to understand the material about the Byrds, but were I to do a similar history of jazz in five hundred songs, Coltrane would have a similar position to someone like the Beatles -- he's such a major figure that he is literally venerated as a saint by the African Orthodox Church, and a couple of other Episcopal churches have at least made the case for his sainthood. So anything I say here about him is not even beginning to scratch the surface of his towering importance to jazz music, but it will, I hope, give some idea of his importance to the development of the Byrds -- a group of whom he was almost certainly totally unaware. Coltrane started out playing as a teenager, and his earliest recordings were when he was nineteen and in the armed forces, just after the end of World War II. At that time, he was very much a beginner, although a talented one, and on his early amateur recordings you can hear him trying to imitate Parker without really knowing what it was that Parker was doing that made him so great. But as well as having some natural talent, he had one big attribute that made him stand out -- his utter devotion to his music. He was so uninterested in anything other than mastering his instrument that one day a friend was telling him about a baseball game he'd watched, and all Coltrane could do was ask in confusion "Who's Willie Mays?" Coltrane would regularly practice his saxophone until his reed was red with blood, but he would also study other musicians. And not just in jazz. He knew that Charlie Parker had intensely studied Stravinsky's Firebird Suite, and so Coltrane would study that too: [Excerpt: Stravinsky, "Firebird Suite"] Coltrane joined the band of Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, who was one of those figures like Johnny Otis, with whom Vinson would later perform for many years, who straddled the worlds of jazz and R&B. Vinson was a blues shouter in the style of Big Joe Turner, but he was also a bebop sax player, and what he wanted was a tenor sax player who could play tenor the way Charlie Parker played alto, but do it in an R&B setting. Coltrane switched from alto to tenor, and spent a year or so playing with Vinson's band. No recordings exist of Coltrane with Vinson that I'm aware of, but you can get an idea of what he sounded like from his next band. By this point, Dizzy Gillespie had graduated from small bebop groups to leading a big band, and he got Coltrane in as one of his alto players, though Coltrane would often also play tenor with Gillespie, as on this recording from 1951, which has Coltrane on tenor, Gillespie on trumpet, with Kenny Burrell and two of the future Modern Jazz Quartet, Milt Jackson and Percy Heath, showing that the roots of modern jazz were not very far at all from the roots of rock and roll: [Excerpt: Dizzy Gillespie, "We Love to Boogie"] After leaving Gillespie's band, Coltrane played with a lot of important musicians over the next four or five years, like Johnny Hodges, Earl Bostic, and Jimmy Smith, and occasionally sat in with Miles Davis, but at this point he was still not a major musician in the genre. He was a competent, working, sideman, but he was also struggling with alcohol and heroin, and hadn't really found his own voice. But then Miles Davis asked Coltrane to join his band full-time. Coltrane was actually Davis' second choice -- he really wanted Sonny Rollins, who was widely considered the best new tenor player around, but he was eventually persuaded to take Coltrane. During his first period with Davis, Coltrane grew rapidly as a musician, and also played on a *lot* of other people's sessions. In a three year period Coltrane went from Davis to Thelonius Monk's group then back to Davis' group, and also recorded as both a sideman and a band leader on a ton of sessions. You can get a box set of his recordings from May 1956 through December 1958 that comes to nineteen CDs -- and that's not counting the recordings with Miles Davis, which aren't included on that set. Unsurprisingly, just through playing this much, Coltrane had grown enormously as a player, and he was particularly fascinated by harmonics, playing with the notes of a chord, in arpeggios, and pushing music to its harmonic limits, as you can hear in his solo on Davis' "Straight, No Chaser", which pushes the limits of the jazz solo as far as they'd gone to that point: [Excerpt: Miles Davis, "Straight, No Chaser"] But on the same album as that, "Milestones", we also have the first appearance of a new style, modal jazz. Now, to explain this, we have to go back to the scales again. We looked at the normal Western scale, do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do, but you can start a scale on any of those notes, and which note you start on creates what is called a different mode. The modes are given Greek names, and each mode has a different feel to it. If you start on do, we call this the major scale or the Ionian mode. This is the normal scale we heard before -- C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C: [demonstrates] Most music – about seventy percent of the melodies you're likely to have heard, uses that mode. If you start on re, it would go re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do-re, or D,E,F,G,A,B,C,D, the Dorian mode: [demonstrates] Melodies with this mode tend to have a sort of wistful feel, like "Scarborough Fair": [Excerpt: Simon and Garfunkel, "Scarborough Fair"] or many of George Harrison's songs: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "I Me Mine"] Starting on mi, you have the Phrygian mode, mi-fa-so-la-ti-do-re-mi: [demonstrates] The Phrygian mode is not especially widely used, but does turn up in some popular works like Barber's Adagio for Strings: [Excerpt: Barber, "Adagio for Strings"] Then there's the Lydian mode, fa-so-la-ti-do-re-mi-fa: [demonstrates] This mode isn't used much at all in pop music -- the most prominent example I can think of is "Pretty Ballerina" by the Left Banke: [Excerpt: The Left Banke, "Pretty Ballerina"] Starting on so, we have so-la-ti-do-re-mi-fa-so -- the Mixolydian mode: [demonstrates] That mode has a sort of bluesy or folky tone to it, and you also find it in a lot of traditional tunes, like "She Moves Through the Fair": [Excerpt: Davey Graham, "She Moved Thru' The Bizarre/Blue Raga"] And in things like "Norwegian Wood" by the Beatles: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Norwegian Wood"] Though that goes into Dorian for the middle section. Starting on la, we have the Aeolian mode, which is also known as the natural minor scale, and is often just talked about as “the minor scale”: [demonstrates] That's obviously used in innumerable songs, for example "Losing My Religion" by REM: [Excerpt: REM, "Losing My Religion"] And finally you have the Locrian mode ti-do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti: [demonstrates] That basically doesn't get used, unless someone wants to show off that they know the Locrian mode. The only vaguely familiar example I can think of is "Army of Me" by Bjork: [Excerpt: Bjork, "Army of Me"] I hope that brief excursion through the seven most common modes in Western diatonic music gives you some idea of the difference that musical modes can make to a piece. Anyway, as I was saying, on the "Milestones" album, we get some of the first examples of a form that became known as modal jazz. Now, the ideas of modal jazz had been around for a few years at that point -- oddly, it seems to be one of the first types of popular music to have existed in theory before existing in practice. George Russell, an acquaintance of Davis who was a self-taught music theorist, had written a book in 1953 titled The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization. That book argues that rather than looking at the diatonic scale as the basis for music, one should instead look at a chord progression called the circle of fifths. The circle of fifths is exactly what it sounds like -- you change chords to one a fifth away from it, and then do that again and again, either going up, so you'd have chords with the roots C-G-D-A-E-B-F# and so on: [demonstrates] Or, more commonly, going down, though usually when going downwards you tend to cheat a bit and sharpen one of the notes so you can stay in one key, so you'd get chords with roots C-F-B-E-A-D-G, usually the chords C, F, B diminished, Em, Am, Dm, G: [demonstrates] That descending cycle of fifths is used in all sorts of music, everything from "You Never Give Me Your Money" by the Beatles: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "You Never Give Me Your Money"] to "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor: [Excerpt: Gloria Gaynor, "I Will Survive"] But what Russell pointed out is that if you do the upwards cycle of fifths, and you *don't* change any of the notes, the first seven root notes you get are the same seven notes you'd find in the Lydian mode, just reordered -- C-D-E-F#-G-A-B . Russell then argued that much of the way harmony and melody work in jazz could be thought of as people experimenting with the way the Lydian mode works, and the way the cycle of fifths leads you further and further away from the tonal centre. Now, you could probably do an entire podcast series as long as this one on the implications of this, and I am honestly just trying to summarise enough information here that you can get a vague gist, but Russell's book had a profound effect on how jazz musicians started to think about harmony and melody. Instead of improvising around the chord changes to songs, they were now basing improvisations and compositions around modes and the notes in them. Rather than having a lot of chord changes, you might just play a single root note that stays the same throughout, or only changes a couple of times in the whole piece, and just imply changes with the clash between the root note and whatever modal note the solo instrument is playing. The track "Milestones" on the Milestones album shows this kind of thinking in full effect -- the song consists of a section in G Dorian, followed by a section in A Aeolian (or E Phrygian depending on how you look at it). Each section has only one implied chord -- a Gm7 for the G Dorian section, and an Am7(b13) for the A Aeolian section -- over which Davis, Cannonball Adderley on alto sax, and Coltrane on tenor, all solo: [Excerpt: Miles Davis, "Milestones"] (For the pedants among you, that track was originally titled "Miles" on the first pressings of the album, but it was retitled "Milestones" on subsequent pressings). The modal form would be taken even further on Davis' next album to be recorded, Porgy and Bess, which featured much fuller orchestrations and didn't have Coltrane on it. Davis later said that when the arranger Gil Evans wrote the arrangements for that album, he didn't write any chords at all, just a scale, which Davis could improvise around. But it was on the album after that, Kind of Blue, which again featured Coltrane on saxophone, that modal jazz made its big breakthrough to becoming the dominant form of jazz music. As with what Evans had done on Porgy and Bess, Davis gave the other instrumentalists modes to play, rather than a chord sequence to improvise over or a melody line to play with. He explained his thinking behind this in an interview with Nat Hentoff, saying "When you're based on chords, you know at the end of 32 bars that the chords have run out and there's nothing to do but repeat what you've just done—with variations. I think a movement in jazz is beginning away from the conventional string of chords ... there will be fewer chords but infinite possibilities as to what to do with them." This style shows up in "So What", the opening track on the album, which is in some ways a very conventional song structure -- it's a thirty-two bar AABA structure. But instead of a chord sequence, it's based on modes in two keys -- the A section is in D Dorian, while the B section is in E-flat Dorian: [Excerpt: Miles Davis, "So What"] Kind of Blue would become one of the contenders for greatest jazz album of all time, and one of the most influential records ever made in any genre -- and it could be argued that that track we just heard, "So What", inspired a whole other genre we'll be looking at in a future episode -- but Coltrane still felt the need to explore more ideas, and to branch out on his own. In particular, while he was interested in modal music, he was also interested in exploring more kinds of scales than just modes, and to do this he had to, at least for the moment, reintroduce chord changes into what he was doing. He was inspired in particular by reading Nicolas Slonimsky's classic Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns. Coltrane had recently signed a new contract as a solo artist with Atlantic Records, and recorded what is generally considered his first true masterpiece album as a solo artist, Giant Steps, with several members of the Davis band, just two weeks after recording Kind of Blue. The title track to Giant Steps is the most prominent example of what are known in jazz as the Coltrane changes -- a cycle of thirds, similar to the cycle of fifths we talked about earlier. The track itself seems to have two sources. The first is the bridge of the old standard "Have You Met Miss Jones?", as famously played by Coleman Hawkins: [Excerpt: Coleman Hawkins, "Have You Met Miss Jones?" And the second is an exercise from Slonimsky's book: [Excerpt: Pattern #286 from Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns] Coltrane combined these ideas to come up with "Giant Steps", which is based entirely around these cycles of thirds, and Slonimsky's example: [Excerpt: John Coltrane, "Giant Steps"] Now, I realise that this is meant to be a history of rock music, not jazz musicology theory time, so I promise you I am just hitting the high points here. And only the points that affect Coltrane's development as far as it influenced the music we're looking at in this episode. And so we're actually going to skip over Coltrane's commercial high-point, My Favourite Things, and most of the rest of his work for Atlantic, even though that music is some of the most important jazz music ever recorded. Instead, I'm going to summarise a whole lot of very important music by simply saying that while Coltrane was very interested in this musical idea of the cycle of thirds, he did not like being tied to precise chord changes, and liked the freedom that modal jazz gave to him. By 1960, when his contract with Atlantic was ending and his contract with Impulse was beginning, and he recorded the two albums Olé and Africa/Brass pretty much back to back, he had hit on a new style with the help of Eric Dolphy, a flute, clarinet, and alto sax player who would become an important figure in Coltrane's life. Dolphy died far too young -- he went into a diabetic coma and doctors assumed that because he was a Black jazz musician he must have overdosed, even though he was actually a teetotal abstainer, so he didn't get the treatment he needed -- but he made such a profound influence on Coltrane's life that Coltrane would carry Dolphy's picture with him after his death. Dolphy was even more of a theorist than Coltrane, and another devotee of Slonimsky's book, and he was someone who had studied a great deal of twentieth-century classical music, particularly people like Bartok, Messiaen, Stravinsky, Charles Ives, and Edgard Varese. Dolphy even performed Varese's piece Density 21.5 in concert, an extremely demanding piece for solo flute. I don't know of a recording of Dolphy performing it, sadly, but this version should give some idea: [Excerpt: Edgard Varese, "Density 21.5"] Encouraged by Dolphy, Coltrane started making music based around no changes at all, with any changes being implied by the melody. The title song of Africa/Brass, "Africa", takes up an entire side of one album, and doesn't have a single actual chord change on it, with Dolphy and pianist McCoy Tyner coming up with a brass-heavy arrangement for Coltrane to improvise over a single chord: [Excerpt: The John Coltrane Quartet: "Africa"] This was a return to the idea of modal jazz, based on scales rather than chord changes, but by implying chord changes, often changes based on thirds, Coltrane was often using different scales than the modes that had been used in modal jazz. And while, as the title suggested, "Africa" was inspired by the music of Africa, the use of a single drone chord underneath solos based on a scale was inspired by the music of another continent altogether. Since at least the mid-1950s, both Coltrane and Dolphy had been interested in Indian music. They appear to have first become interested in a record released by Folkways, Music Of India, Morning And Evening Ragas by Ali Akbar Khan: [Excerpt: Ali Akbar Khan, "Rag Sindhi Bhairavi"] But the musician they ended up being most inspired by was a friend of Khan's, Ravi Shankar, who like Khan had been taught by the great sarod player Alauddin Khan, Ali Akbar Khan's father. The elder Khan, who was generally known as "Baba", meaning "father", was possibly *the* most influential Indian musician of the first half of the twentieth century, and was a big part of the revitalisation of Indian music that went hand in hand with the growth of Indian nationalism. He was an ascetic who lived for music and nothing else, and would write five to ten new compositions every day, telling Shankar "Do one thing well and you can achieve everything. Do everything and you achieve nothing". Alauddin Khan was a very religious Muslim, but one who saw music as the ultimate way to God and could find truths in other faiths. When Shankar first got to know him, they were both touring as musicians in a dance troupe run by Shankar's elder brother, which was promoting Indian arts in the West, and he talked about taking Khan to hear the organ playing at Notre Dame cathedral, and Khan bursting into tears and saying "here is God". Khan was not alone in this view. The classical music of Northern India, the music that Khan played and taught, had been very influenced by Sufism, which was for most of Muslim history the dominant intellectual and theological tradition in Islam. Now, I am going to sum up a thousand years of theology and practice, of a religion I don't belong to, in a couple of sentences here, so just assume that what I'm saying is wrong, and *please* don't take offence if you are Sufi yourself and believe I am misrepresenting you. But my understanding of Sufism is that Sufis are extremely devoted to attaining knowledge and understanding of God, and believe that strict adherence to Muslim law is the best way to attain that knowledge -- that it is the way that God himself has prescribed for humans to know him -- but that such knowledge can be reached by people of other faiths if they approach their own traditions with enough devotion. Sufi ideas infuse much of Northern Indian classical music, and so for example it has been considered acceptable for Muslims to sing Hindu religious music and Hindus to sing songs of praise to Allah. So while Ravi Shankar was Hindu and Alauddin Khan was Muslim, Khan was able to become Shankar's guru in what both men regarded as a religious observance, and even to marry Khan's daughter. Khan was a famously cruel disciplinarian -- once hospitalising a student after hitting him with a tuning hammer -- but he earned the devotion of his students by enforcing the same discipline on himself. He abstained from sex so he could put all his energies into music, and was known to tie his hair to the ceiling while he practiced, so he could not fall asleep no matter how long he kept playing. Both Khan and his son Ali Akhbar Khan played the sarod, while Shankar played the sitar, but they all played the same kind of music, which is based on the concept of the raga. Now, in some ways, a raga can be considered equivalent to a mode in Western music: [Excerpt: Ali Akbar Khan, "Rag Sindhi Bhairavi"] But a raga is not *just* a mode -- it sits somewhere between Western conceptions of a mode and a melody. It has a scale, like a mode, but it can have different scales going up or down, and rules about which notes can be moved to from which other notes. So for example (and using Western tones so as not to confuse things further), a raga might say that it's possible to move up from the note G to D, but not down from D to G. Ragas are essentially a very restrictive set of rules which allow the musician playing them to improvise freely within those rules. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the violinist Yehudi Mehuin, at the time the most well-known classical musician in the world, had become fascinated by Indian music as part of a wider programme of his to learn more music outside what he regarded as the overly-constricting scope of the Western classical tradition in which he had been trained. He had become a particular fan of Shankar, and had invited him over to the US to perform. Shankar had refused to come at that point, sending his brother-in-law Ali Akbar Khan over, as he was in the middle of a difficult divorce, and that had been when Khan had recorded that album which had fascinated Coltrane and Dolphy. But Shankar soon followed himself, and made his own records: [Excerpt: Ravi Shankar, "Raga Hamsadhwani"] The music that both Khan and Shankar played was a particular style of Hindustani classical music, which has three elements -- there's a melody instrument, in Shankar's case the sitar and in Khan's the sarod, both of them fretted stringed instruments which have additional strings that resonate along with the main melody string, giving their unique sound. These are the most distinctive Indian instruments, but the melody can be played on all sorts of other instruments, whether Indian instruments like the bansuri and shehnai, which are very similar to the flute and oboe respectively, or Western instruments like the violin. Historically, the melody has also often been sung rather than played, but Indian instrumental music has had much more influence on Western popular music than Indian vocal music has, so we're mostly looking at that here. Along with the melody instrument there's a percussion instrument, usually the tabla, which is a pair of hand drums. Rather than keep a steady, simple, beat like the drum kit in rock music, the percussion has its own patterns and cycles, called talas, which like ragas are heavily formalised but leave a great amount of room for improvisation. The percussion and the melody are in a sort of dialogue with each other, and play off each other in a variety of ways. And finally there's the drone instrument, usually a stringed instrument called a tamboura. The drone is what it sounds like -- a single note, sustained and repeated throughout the piece, providing a harmonic grounding for the improvisations of the melody instrument. Sometimes, rather than just a single root note, it will be a root and fifth, providing a single chord to improvise over, but as often it will be just one note. Often that note will be doubled at the octave, so you might have a drone on both low E and high E. The result provides a very strict, precise, formal, structure for an infinitely varied form of expression, and Shankar was a master of it: [Excerpt: Ravi Shankar, "Raga Hamsadhwani"] Dolphy and, especially, Coltrane became fascinated by Indian music, and Coltrane desperately wanted to record with Shankar -- he even later named his son Ravi in honour of the great musician. It wasn't just the music as music, but music as spiritual practice, that Coltrane was engaged with. He was a deeply religious man but one who was open to multiple faith traditions -- he had been brought up as a Methodist, and both his grandfathers were ministers in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, but his first wife, Naima, who inspired his personal favourite of his own compositions, was a Muslim, while his second wife, Swamini Turiyasangitananda (who he married after leaving Naima in 1963 and who continued to perform as Alice Coltrane even after she took that name, and was herself an extraordinarily accomplished jazz musician on both piano and harp), was a Hindu, and both of them profoundly influenced Coltrane's own spirituality. Some have even suggested that Coltrane's fascination with a cycle of thirds came from the idea that the third could represent both the Christian Trinity and the Hindu trimurti -- the three major forms of Brahman in Hinduism, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. So a music which was a religious discipline for more than one religion, and which worked well with the harmonic and melodic ideas that Coltrane had been exploring in jazz and learning about through his studies of modern classical music, was bound to appeal to Coltrane, and he started using the idea of having two basses provide an octave drone similar to that of the tamboura, leading to tracks like "Africa" and "Olé": [Excerpt: John Coltrane, "Olé"] Several sources have stated that that song was an influence on "Light My Fire" by the Doors, and I can sort of see that, though most of the interviews I've seen with Ray Manzarek have him talking about Coltrane's earlier version of "My Favourite Things" as the main influence there. Coltrane finally managed to meet with Shankar in December 1961, and spent a lot of time with him -- the two discussed recording an album together with McCoy Tyner, though nothing came of it. Shankar said of their several meetings that month: "The music was fantastic. I was much impressed, but one thing distressed me. There was turbulence in the music that gave me a negative feeling at times, but I could not quite put my finger on the trouble … Here was a creative person who had become a vegetarian, who was studying yoga, and reading the Bhagavad-Gita, yet in whose music I still heard much turmoil. I could not understand it." Coltrane said in turn "I like Ravi Shankar very much. When I hear his music, I want to copy it – not note for note of course, but in his spirit. What brings me closest to Ravi is the modal aspect of his art. Currently, at the particular stage I find myself in, I seem to be going through a modal phase … There's a lot of modal music that is played every day throughout the world. It is particularly evident in Africa, but if you look at Spain or Scotland, India or China, you'll discover this again in each case … It's this universal aspect of music that interests me and attracts me; that's what I'm aiming for." And the month before Coltrane met Shankar, Coltrane had had a now-legendary residency at the Village Vanguard in New York with his band, including Dolphy, which had resulted not only in the famous Live at the Village Vanguard album, but in two tracks on Coltrane's studio album Impressions. Those shows were among the most controversial in the history of jazz, though the Village Vanguard album is now often included in lists of the most important records in jazz. Downbeat magazine, the leading magazine for jazz fans at the time, described those shows as "musical nonsense" and "a horrifying demonstration of what appears to be a growing anti-jazz trend" -- though by the time Impressions came out in 1963, that opinion had been revised somewhat. Harvey Pekar, the comic writer and jazz critic, also writing in DownBeat, gave Impressions five stars, saying "Not all the music on this album is excellent (which is what a five-star rating signifies,) but some is more than excellent". And while among Coltrane fans the piece from these Village Vanguard shows that is of most interest is the extended blues masterpiece "Chasin' the Trane" which takes up a whole side of the Village Vanguard LP, for our purposes we're most interested in one of the two tracks that was held over for Impressions. This was another of Coltrane's experiments in using the drones he'd found in Indian musical forms, like "Africa" and "Olé". This time it was also inspired by a specific piece of music, though not an instrumental one. Rather it was a vocal performance -- a recording on a Folkways album of Pandita Ramji Shastri Dravida chanting one of the Vedas, the religious texts which are among the oldest texts sacred to any surviving religion: [Excerpt: Pandita Ramji Shastri Dravida, "Vedic Chanting"] Coltrane took that basic melodic idea, and combined it with his own modal approach to jazz, and the inspiration he was taking from Shankar's music, and came up with a piece called "India": [Excerpt: John Coltrane, "India"] Which is where we came in, isn't it? [Excerpt: The Byrds, "Eight Miles High"] So now, finally, we get to the Byrds. Even before "Mr. Tambourine Man" went to number one in the charts, the Byrds were facing problems with their sound being co-opted as the latest hip thing. Their location in LA, at the centre of the entertainment world, was obviously a huge advantage to them in many ways, but it also made them incredibly visible to people who wanted to hop onto a bandwagon. The group built up much of their fanbase playing at Ciro's -- the nightclub on the Sunset Strip that we mentioned in the previous episode which later reopened as It's Boss -- and among those in the crowd were Sonny and Cher. And Sonny brought along his tape recorder. The Byrds' follow-up single to "Mr. Tambourine Man", released while that song was still going up the charts, was another Dylan song, "All I Really Want to Do". But it had to contend with this: [Excerpt: Cher, "All I Really Want to Do"] Cher's single, produced by Sonny, was her first solo single since the duo had become successful, and came out before the Byrds' version, and the Byrds were convinced that elements of the arrangement, especially the guitar part, came from the version they'd been performing live – though of course Sonny was no stranger to jangly guitars himself, having co-written “Needles and Pins”, the song that pretty much invented the jangle. Cher made number fifteen on the charts, while the Byrds only made number forty. Their version did beat Cher's in the UK charts, though. The record company was so worried about the competition that for a while they started promoting the B-side as the A-side. That B-side was an original by Gene Clark, though one that very clearly showed the group's debt to the Searchers: [Excerpt: The Byrds, "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better"] While it was very obviously derived from the Searchers' version of "Needles and Pins", especially the riff, it was still a very strong, original, piece of work in its own right. It was the song that convinced the group's producer, Terry Melcher, that they were a serious proposition as artists in their own right, rather than just as performers of Dylan's material, and it was also a favourite of the group's co-manager, Jim Dickson, who picked out Clark's use of the word "probably" in the chorus as particularly telling -- the singer thinks he will feel better when the subject of the song is gone, but only probably. He's not certain. "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better", after being promoted as the A-side for a short time, reached number one hundred and two on the charts, but the label quickly decided to re-flip it and concentrate on promoting the Dylan song as the single. The group themselves weren't too bothered about their thunder having been stolen by Sonny and Cher, but their new publicist was incandescent. Derek Taylor had been a journalist for the Daily Express, which at that time was a respectable enough newspaper (though that is very much no longer the case). He'd become involved in the music industry after writing an early profile on the Beatles, at which point he had been taken on by the Beatles' organisation first to ghostwrite George Harrison's newspaper column and Brian Epstein's autobiography, and then as their full-time publicist and liner-note writer. He'd left the organisation at the end of 1964, and had moved to the US, where he had set up as an independent music publicist, working for the Byrds, the Beach Boys, and various other acts in their overlapping social circles, such as Paul Revere and the Raiders. Taylor was absolutely furious on the group's behalf, saying "I was not only disappointed, I was disgusted. Sonny and Cher went to Ciro's and ripped off the Byrds and, being obsessive, I could not get this out of my mind that Sonny and Cher had done this terrible thing. I didn't know that much about the record business and, in my experience with the Beatles, cover versions didn't make any difference. But by covering the Byrds, it seemed that you could knock them off the perch. And Sonny and Cher, in my opinion, stole that song at Ciro's and interfered with the Byrds' career and very nearly blew them out of the game." But while the single was a comparative flop, the Mr. Tambourine Man album, which came out shortly after, was much more successful. It contained the A and B sides of both the group's first two singles, although a different vocal take of "All I Really Want to Do" was used from the single release, along with two more Dylan covers, and a couple more originals -- five of the twelve songs on the album were original in total, three of them Gene Clark solo compositions and the other two co-written by Clark and Roger McGuinn. To round it out there was a version of the 1939 song "We'll Meet Again", made famous by Vera Lynn, which you may remember us discussing in episode ninety as an example of early synthesiser use, but which had recently become popular in a rerecorded version from the 1950s, thanks to its use at the end of Dr. Strangelove; there was a song written by Jackie DeShannon; and "The Bells of Rhymney", a song in which Pete Seeger set a poem about a mining disaster in Wales to music. So a fairly standard repertoire for early folk-rock, though slightly heavier on Dylan than most. While the group's Hollywood notoriety caused them problems like the Sonny and Cher one, it did also give them advantages. For example, they got to play at the fourth of July party hosted by Jane Fonda, to guests including her father Henry and brother Peter, Louis Jordan, Steve McQueen, Warren Beatty, and Sidney Poitier. Derek Taylor, who was used to the Beatles' formal dress and politeness at important events, imposed on them by Brian Epstein, was shocked when the Byrds turned up informally dressed, and even more shocked when Vito Paulekas and Carl Franzoni showed up. Vito (who was always known by his first name) and Franzoni are both important but marginal figures in the LA scene. Neither were musicians, though Vito did make one record, produced by Kim Fowley: [Excerpt: Vito and the Hands, "Vito and the Hands"] Rather Vito was a sculptor in his fifties, who had become part of the rock and roll scene and had gathered around him a dance troupe consisting largely of much younger women, and also of himself and Franzoni. Their circle, which also included Arthur Lee and Bryan MacLean, who weren't part of their dance troupe but were definitely part of their crowd, will be talked about much more in future episodes, but for now we'll just say that they are often considered proto-hippies, though they would have disputed that characterisation themselves quite vigorously; that they were regular dancers at Ciro's and became regular parts of the act of both the Byrds and the Mothers of Invention; and we'll give this rather explicit description of their performances from Frank Zappa: "The high point of the performance was Carl Franzoni, our 'go-go boy.' He was wearing ballet tights, frugging violently. Carl has testicles which are bigger than a breadbox. Much bigger than a breadbox. The looks on the faces of the Baptist teens experiencing their grandeur is a treasured memory." Paints a vivid picture, doesn't it? So you can possibly imagine why Derek Taylor later said "When Carl Franzoni and Vito came, I got into a terrible panic". But Jim Dickson explained to him that it was Hollywood and people were used to that kind of thing, and even though Taylor described seeing Henry Fonda and his wife pinned against the wall by the writhing Franzoni and the other dancers, apparently everyone had a good time. And then the next month, the group went on their first UK tour. On which nobody had a good time: [Excerpt: The Byrds, "Eight Miles High"] Even before the tour, Derek Taylor had reservations. Obviously the Byrds should tour the UK -- London, in particular, was the centre of the cultural world at that time, and Taylor wanted the group to meet his old friends the Beatles and visit Carnaby Street. But at the same time, there seemed to be something a little... off... about the promoters they were dealing with, Joe Collins, the father of Joan and Jackie Collins, and a man named Mervyn Conn. As Taylor said later "All I did know was that the correspondence from Mervyn Conn didn't assure me. I kept expressing doubts about the contents of the letters. There was something about the grammar. You know, 'I'll give you a deal', and 'We'll get you some good gigs'. The whole thing was very much showbusiness. Almost pantomime showbusiness." But still, it seemed like it was worth making the trip, even when Musicians Union problems nearly derailed the whole thing. We've talked previously about how disagreements between the unions in the US and UK meant that musicians from one country couldn't tour the other for decades, and about how that slightly changed in the late fifties. But the new system required a one-in, one-out system where tours had to be set up as exchanges so nobody was taking anyone's job, and nobody had bothered to find a five-piece group of equivalent popularity to the Byrds to tour America in return. Luckily, the Dave Clark Five stepped into the breach, and were able to do a US tour on short notice, so that problem was solved. And then, as soon as they landed, the group were confronted with a lawsuit. From the Birds: [Excerpt: The Birds, "No Good Without You Baby"] These Birds, spelled with an "i", not a "y", were a Mod group from London, who had started out as the Thunderbirds, but had had to shorten their name when the London R&B singer Chris Farlowe and his band the Thunderbirds had started to have some success. They'd become the Birds, and released a couple of unsuccessful singles, but had slowly built up a reasonable following and had a couple of TV appearances. Then they'd started to receive complaints from their fans that when they went into the record shops to ask for the new record by the Birds, they were being sold some jangly folky stuff about tambourines, rather than Bo Diddley inspired R&B. So the first thing the American Byrds saw in England, after a long and difficult flight which had left them very tired and depressed, especially Gene Clark, who hated flying, was someone suing them for loss of earnings. The lawsuit never progressed any further, and the British group changed their name to Birds Birds, and quickly disappeared from music history -- apart from their guitarist, Ronnie Wood, who we'll be hearing from again. But the experience was not exactly the welcome the group had been hoping for, and is reflected in one of the lines that Gene Clark wrote in the song he later came up with about the trip -- "Nowhere is there love to be found among those afraid of losing their ground". And the rest of the tour was not much of an improvement. Chris Hillman came down with bronchitis on the first night, David Crosby kept turning his amp up too high, resulting in the other members copying him and the sound in the venues they were playing seeming distorted, and most of all they just seemed, to the British crowds, to be unprofessional. British audiences were used to groups running on, seeming excited, talking to the crowd between songs, and generally putting on a show. The Byrds, on the other hand, sauntered on stage, and didn't even look at the audience, much less talk to them. What seemed to the LA audience as studied cool seemed to the UK audience like the group were rude, unprofessional, and big-headed. At one show, towards the end of the set, one girl in the audience cried out "Aren't you even going to say anything?", to which Crosby responded "Goodbye" and the group walked off, without any of them having said another word. When they played the Flamingo Club, the biggest cheer of the night came when their short set ended and the manager said that the club was now going to play records for dancing until the support act, Geno Washington and the Ramjam Band, were ready to do another set. Michael Clarke and Roger McGuinn also came down with bronchitis, the group were miserable and sick, and they were getting absolutely panned in the reviews. The closest thing they got to a positive review was when Paul Jones of Manfred Mann was asked about them, and he praised some of their act -- perceptively pointing to their version of "We'll Meet Again" as being in the Pop Art tradition of recontextualising something familiar so it could be looked at freshly -- but even he ended up also criticising several aspects of the show and ended by saying "I think they're going to be a lot better in the future". And then, just to rub salt in the wound, Sonny and Cher turned up in the UK. The Byrds' version of "All I Really Want to Do" massively outsold theirs in the UK, but their big hit became omnipresent: [Excerpt: Sonny and Cher, "I Got You Babe"] And the press seemed to think that Sonny and Cher, rather than the Byrds, were the true representatives of the American youth culture. The Byrds were already yesterday's news. The tour wasn't all bad -- it did boost sales of the group's records, and they became friendly with the Beatles, Stones, and Donovan. So much so that when later in the month the Beatles returned to the US, the Byrds were invited to join them at a party they were holding in Benedict Canyon, and it was thanks to the Byrds attending that party that two things happened to influence the Beatles' songwriting. The first was that Crosby brought his Hollywood friend Peter Fonda along. Fonda kept insisting on telling people that he knew what it was like to actually be dead, in a misguided attempt to reassure George Harrison, who he wrongly believed was scared of dying, and insisted on showing them his self-inflicted bullet wounds. This did not go down well with John Lennon and George Harrison, both of whom were on acid at the time. As Lennon later said, "We didn't want to hear about that! We were on an acid trip and the sun was shining and the girls were dancing and the whole thing was beautiful and Sixties, and this guy – who I really didn't know; he hadn't made Easy Rider or anything – kept coming over, wearing shades, saying, "I know what it's like to be dead," and we kept leaving him because he was so boring! ... It was scary. You know ... when you're flying high and [whispers] "I know what it's like to be dead, man" Eventually they asked Fonda to get out, and the experience later inspired Lennon to write this: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "She Said, She Said"] Incidentally, like all the Beatles songs of that period, that was adapted for the cartoon TV series based on the group, in this case as a follow-the-bouncing-ball animation. There are few things which sum up the oddness of mid-sixties culture more vividly than the fact that there was a massively popular kids' cartoon with a cheery singalong version of a song about a bad acid trip and knowing what it's like to be dead. But there was another, more positive, influence on the Beatles to come out of them having invited the Byrds to the party. Once Fonda had been kicked out, Crosby and Harrison became chatty, and started talking about the sitar, an instrument that Harrison had recently become interested in. Crosby showed Harrison some ragas on the guitar, and suggested he start listening to Ravi Shankar, who Crosby had recently become a fan of. And we'll be tracking Shankar's influence on Harrison, and through him the Beatles, and through them the whole course of twentieth century culture, in future episodes. Crosby's admiration both of Ravi Shankar and of John Coltrane was soon to show in the Byrds' records, but first they needed a new single. They'd made attempts at a version of "The Times They Are A-Changin'", and had even tried to get both George Harrison and Paul McCartney to add harmonica to that track, but that didn't work out. Then just before the UK tour, Terry Melcher had got Jack Nitzsche to come up with an arrangement of Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue": [Excerpt: The Byrds, "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (version 1)"] Nitzsche's arrangement was designed to sound as much like a Sonny and Cher record as possible, and at first the intention was just to overdub McGuinn's guitar and vocals onto a track by the Wrecking Crew. The group weren't happy at this, and even McGuinn, who was the friendliest of the group with Melcher and who the record was meant to spotlight, disliked it. The eventual track was cut by the group, with Jim Dickson producing, to show they could do a good job of the song by themselves, with the intention that Melcher would then polish it and finish it in the studio, but Melcher dropped the idea of doing the song at all. There was a growing factionalism in the group by this point, with McGuinn and to a lesser extent Michael Clarke being friendly with Melcher. Crosby disliked Melcher and was pushing for Jim Dickson to replace him as producer, largely because he thought that Melcher was vetoing Crosby's songs and giving Gene Clark and Roger McGuinn free run of the songwriting. Dickson on the other hand was friendliest with Crosby, but wasn't much keener on Crosby's songwriting than Melcher was, thinking Gene Clark was the real writing talent in the group. It didn't help that Crosby's songs tended to be things like harmonically complex pieces based on science fiction novels -- Crosby was a big fan of the writer Robert Heinlein, and in particular of the novel Stranger in a Strange Land, and brought in at least two songs inspired by that novel, which were left off albums -- his song "Stranger in a Strange Land" was eventually recorded by the San Francisco group Blackburn & Snow: [Excerpt: Blackburn & Snow, "Stranger in a Strange Land"] Oddly, Jim Dickson objected to what became the Byrds' next single for reasons that come from the same roots as the Heinlein novel. A short while earlier, McGuinn had worked as a guitarist and arranger on an album by the folk singer Judy Collins, and one of the songs she had recorded on that album was a song written by Pete Seeger, setting the first eight verses of chapter three of the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes to music: [Excerpt: Judy Collins, "Turn Turn Turn (To Everything There is a Season"] McGuinn wanted to do an electric version of that song as the Byrds' next single, and Melcher sided with him, but Dickson was against the idea, citing the philosopher Alfred Korzybski, who was a big influence both on the counterculture and on Heinlein. Korzybski, in his book Science and Sanity, argued that many of the problems with the world are caused by the practice in Aristotelean logic of excluding the middle and only talking about things and their opposites, saying that things could be either A or Not-A, which in his view excluded most of actual reality. Dickson's argument was that the lyrics to “Turn! Turn! Turn!” with their inflexible Aristotelianism, were hopelessly outmoded and would make the group a laughing stock among anyone who had paid attention to the intellectual revolutions of the previous few decades. "A time of love, a time of hate"? What about all the times that are neither for loving or hating, and all the emotions that are complex mixtures of love and hate? In his eyes, this was going to make the group look like lightweights. Terry Melcher disagreed, and forced the group through take after take, until they got what became the group's second number one hit: [Excerpt: The Byrds, "Turn! Turn! Turn!"] After the single was released and became a hit, the battle lines in the group hardened. It was McGuinn and Melcher on one side, Crosby and Dickson on the other, with Chris Hillman, Michael Clarke, and Gene Clark more or less neutral in the middle, but tending to side more and more with the two Ms largely because of Crosby's ability to rub everyone up the wrong way. At one point during the sessions for the next album, tempers flared so much that Michael Clarke actually got up, went over to Crosby, and punched Crosby so hard that he fell off his seat. Crosby, being Hollywood to the bone, yelled at Clarke "You'll never work in this town again!", but the others tended to agree that on that occasion Crosby had it coming. Clarke, when asked about it later, said "I slapped him because he was being an asshole. He wasn't productive. It was necessary." Things came to a head in the filming for a video for the next single, Gene Clark's "Set You Free This Time". Michael Clarke was taller than the other Byrds, and to get the shot right, so the angles would line up, he had to stand further from the camera than the rest of them. David Crosby -- the member with most knowledge of the film industry, whose father was an Academy Award-winning cinematographer, so who definitely understood the reasoning for this -- was sulking that once again a Gene Clark song had been chosen for promotion rather than one of his songs, and started manipulating Michael Clarke, telling him that he was being moved backwards because the others were jealous of his good looks, and that he needed to move forward to be with the rest of them. Multiple takes were ruined because Clarke listened to Crosby, and eventually Jim Dickson got furious at Clarke and went over and slapped him on the face. All hell broke loose. Michael Clarke wasn't particularly bothered by being slapped by Dickson, but Crosby took that as an excuse to leave, walking off before the first shot of the day had been completed. Dickson ran after Crosby, who turned round and punched Dickson in the mouth. Dickson grabbed hold of Crosby and held him in a chokehold. Gene Clark came up and pulled Dickson off Crosby, trying to break up the fight, and then Crosby yelled "Yeah, that's right, Gene! Hold him so I can hit him again!" At this point if Clark let Dickson go, Dickson would have attacked Crosby again. If he held Dickson, Crosby would have taken it as an invitation to hit him more. Clark's dilemma was eventually relieved by Barry Feinstein, the cameraman, who came in and broke everything up. It may seem odd that Crosby and Dickson, who were on the same side, were the ones who got into a fight, while Michael Clarke, who had previously hit Crosby, was listening to Crosby over Dickson, but that's indicative of how everyone felt about Crosby. As Dickson later put it, "People have stronger feelings about David Crosby. I love David more than the rest and I hate him more than the rest. I love McGuinn the least, and I hate him the least, because he doesn't give you emotional feedback. You don't get a chance. The hate is in equal proportion to how much you love them." McGuinn was finding all this deeply distressing -- Dickson and Crosby were violent men, and Michael Clarke and Hillman could be provoked to violence, but McGuinn was a pacifist both by conviction and temperament. Everything was conspiring to push the camps further apart. For example, Gene Clark made more money than the rest because of his songwriting royalties, and so got himself a good car. McGuinn had problems with his car, and knowing that the other members were jealous of Clark, Melcher offered to lend McGuinn one of his own Cadillacs, partly in an attempt to be friendly, and partly to make sure the jealousy over Clark's car didn't cause further problems in the group. But, of course, now Gene Clark had a Ferrarri and Roger McGuinn had a Cadillac, where was David Crosby's car? He stormed into Dickson's office and told him that if by the end of the tour the group were going on, Crosby didn't have a Bentley, he was quitting the group. There was only one thing for it. Terry Melcher had to go. The group had recorded their second album, and if they couldn't fix the problems within the band, they would have to deal with the problems from outside. While the group were on tour, Jim Dickson told Melcher they would no longer be working with him as their producer. On the tour bus, the group listened over and over to a tape McGuinn had made of Crosby's favourite music. On one side was a collection of recordings of Ravi Shankar, and on the other was two Coltrane albums -- Africa/Brass and Impressions: [Excerpt: John Coltrane, "India"] The group listened to this, and basically no other music, on the tour, and while they were touring Gene Clark was working on what he hoped would be the group's next single -- an impressionistic song about their trip to the UK, which started "Six miles high and when you touch down, you'll find that it's stranger than known". After he had it half complete, he showed it to Crosby, who helped him out with the lyrics, coming up with lines like "Rain, grey town, known for its sound" to describe London. The song talked about the crowds that followed them, about the music -- namechecking the Small Faces, who at the time had only released two single

We have a special episode that was recorded during Black History month. Our guest is Wanda Burnside, who is an accomplished author, writer, and poet. Come and hear about her godly heritage growing up in Detroit, Michigan. In her signature storyteller style, she tells of how she served in the jail ministry with her father when she was 16, her active participation in the Civil Rights Movement, and how God protected her from being kidnaped during a demonstration. She shares how God called her to write for Him and inspires listeners how to use their God given talents for the Lord. Wanda is giving away a copies of her book "Free From It!", which includes a goodie bag for the book launch! Show notes: Link Tree Website: https://dswministries.org Email: diana@dswministries.org Social media links: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DSW-Ministries-230135337033879 Twitter: https://twitter.com/DswMinistries YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxgIpWVQCmjqog0PMK4khDw/playlists Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dswministries/ https://dswministries.org/subscribe-to-podcast/ Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Google Podcasts, Pandora, Stitcher, Listen Notes Keep in touch with me! Email subscribe to get my handpicked list of the best resources for abuse survivors! https://thoughtful-composer-4268.ck.page #abuse #trauma Mentoring https://youtu.be/WWgkERpkIoY An easy way to help my ministry: https://dswministries.org/product/buy-me-a-cup-of-tea/ A donation link: https://dswministries.org/donate/ Affiliate links: Can't travel to The Holy Land right now? The next best thing is Walking The Bible Lands! Get a free video sample of the Bible lands here! https://members.walkingthebiblelands.com/pages/refer?referral_code=eHeeHacgekBDge Get one free month of Blubrry podcast hosting with the promotional code: FAITHFUL http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/?code=FAITHFUL Get quality podcast guests and interviews from PodMatch! Get paid to be a host! Sign up below: https://podmatch.com/signup/faithful Visit my friends at the Heal Thrive Dream Boutique for some cool T-shirts, jewelry and other merch! Simply share the discount code we created just for you and receive a 10% discount on your order!  DIANA98825  https://www.htd-boutique.com/ Bible Study Notebook From Karen Robinson! Check it out!  https://www.htd-boutique.com/products/bible-planner-for-survivors-includes-prayer-requests-sermon-notes-bible-study-notes-and-other-note-pages-to-enrich-your-spiritual-life Social media: Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, Instagram, Pinterest: DSW Ministries A video of my backyard birds, harvest and rainbows! https://youtu.be/VVZJvnlEUZ4 Show notes: Contact Wanda to get your free book Book: “Free From It” and goodie bag! Email: wtvison@hotmail.com LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook:  Wanda Burnside and The Lamp Newsletter ALIVE! The other book mentioned:  “Don't Mess With Me”                                     2020 Bio Update for Wanda J.  Burnside Wanda J. Burnside is an award-winning poet, author and writer.  Since 1970, she has received numerous awards in writing.  Her first noted writing award was presented to her in 1970 while a student at the University of Detroit.  In 1999, she received two awards from The American Christian Writers organization. They awarded her with the Christian Writer of the Year Award and The Persistent Writer of the Year Award.  She is the founder and president of: 1995-Write the Vision Ministries and Media Productions, International, 1995-Matchless Love Ministries, 2008-The Lamp Newsletter International with offices in the UK-London and Australia, 2010-Precious Princess and founder of several other ministries. Wanda has written and published: twenty-one books, she is a contributing writer in more than eighty books, written and performed twenty-two plays for children, nearly 1,

Wanda Burnside We have a special episode that was recorded during Black History month. Our guest is Wanda Burnside, who is an accomplished author, writer, and poet. Come and hear about her godly heritage growing up in Detroit, Michigan. In her signature storyteller style, she tells of how she served in the jail ministry with her father when she was 16, her active participation in the Civil Rights Movement, and how God protected her from being kidnaped during a demonstration. She shares how God called her to write for Him and inspires listeners how to use their God given talents for the Lord. Wanda is giving away a copies of her book "Free From It!", which includes a goodie bag for the book launch! Show notes: diana@dswministries.org https://dswministries.org Social media: Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, Instagram, Pinterest: DSW Ministries A video of my backyard birds, harvest and rainbows! https://youtu.be/VVZJvnlEUZ4 Show notes: Contact Wanda to get your free book Book: “Free From It” and goodie bag! Email: wtvison@hotmail.com LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook:  Wanda Burnside and The Lamp Newsletter ALIVE! The other book mentioned:  “Don't Mess With Me”                                     2020 Bio Update for Wanda J.  Burnside Wanda J. Burnside is an award-winning poet, author and writer.  Since 1970, she has received numerous awards in writing.  Her first noted writing award was presented to her in 1970 while a student at the University of Detroit.  In 1999, she received two awards from The American Christian Writers organization. They awarded her with the Christian Writer of the Year Award and The Persistent Writer of the Year Award.  She is the founder and president of: 1995-Write the Vision Ministries and Media Productions, International, 1995-Matchless Love Ministries, 2008-The Lamp Newsletter International with offices in the UK-London and Australia, 2010-Precious Princess and founder of several other ministries. Wanda has written and published: twenty-one books, she is a contributing writer in more than eighty books, written and performed twenty-two plays for children, nearly 1,000 poems, and other literature for the glory of God. In 1972, she graduated from the University of Detroit with a BS in Humanities/Early Education.  She has taught grades K-7 in public and private schools. Wanda is certified in several Christian Education ministries and studies.  She is involved in numerous outreach ministries and community services for those with special needs. Wanda has been married to her husband, Simmie Lee Burnside, Jr., since 1972.  They are committed to working with those who have various challenges and difficulties to show them the love of Jesus Christ.