It's Quite A Living

In Epi 9, world class jazz musician John Clayton and podcast host E.B. Moss reminisce about a friendship launched with a prank, before seriously discussing the Grammy-winning arranger/composer/bassist's techniques, and experiences across a life in the music industry. From his serendipitous introduction to the bass, mentorship under Ray Brown, journey with musicians from Dee Dee Bridgewater to Diana Krall, Oscar Peterson to Monty Alexander. it's quite a living. Learn how John approaches compos...

Interested in acting? Isiah Whitlock Jr. practically gives a mini Master Class when he talks about preparing for one of his more challenging roles.Fan of The Wire? You know Isiah as the corrupt Senator Clay Davis. In Epi 5 of It's Quite a Living hear where his famous phrasing of "sheeeeeeeee-it" originated (think Spike Lee!) and how it came to be in that HBO show AND in a bobblehead that you too can actually own!Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Clay Davis, in The WireHear how Spike Lee first met Isiah a...

I met my new friend, Ruth McDaniels, at a virtual event. She had begun a campaign for a city council seat in Harlem and it an introduction to she and her local artist friend, Flash. It was just a year ago, only days after George Floyd was killed, and Ruth was asked to share with the group of all white women, her thoughts on this devastation.To say this was a tough Zoom event would be an understatement. To hear Ruth recall her reaction as she was mid-trauma, is to hear her honest truth. I real...

In the fabulous '80s one of my best friends, Peggy Goff Bottger, and I each moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Thanks to that friendship I met, and often stayed at the home of, her sister - singer/actor/author Gloria Loring. Gloria was glamorous, inspiring, and a bonafide celebrity. They were heady times for me...meeting other soap stars (one of which she was dating, which you'll hear her talk about), going to a Halloween party at the home of her ex-husband Alan Thicke (I will never for...

Interested in acting? Isiah Whitlock Jr. practically gives a mini Master Class when he talks about preparing for one of his more challenging roles.Fan of The Wire? You know Isiah as the corrupt Senator Clay Davis. In Epi 5 of It's Quite a Living hear where his famous phrasing of "sheeeeeeeee-it" originated (think Spike Lee!) and how it came to be in that HBO show AND in a bobblehead that you too can actually own!Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Clay Davis, in The WireHear how Spike Lee first met Is...

When he was 10 years old, Marc Blatte's grandfather took him to see his first Broadway show, The Music Man. Some 50 years later Marc was a Grammy-nominated music man himself, and had convinced many people, in song, to upgrade from "Your Father's Oldsmobile" ...and to go "Goldfishin'" for Goldfish snacks.Marc is the Clio-winning composer of, literally, scores of some of the best known jinglesBobby, Brad, Marc, at work at LookJeanne Neary Look with session singer Lani Groves(with the creative a...

Amy Hill has been a mom for twenty years in real life, and even longer in her acting life: from Grandma Kim (All American Girl), Mama Tohru (Jackie Chan Adventures), Ah-Mah Jasmine Lee (The Life and Times of Juniper Lee), Mah Mah (American Dad!) to even being ON the hit comedy, "Mom". But she's also had another 150+ acting credits not tied to that title both in live-action and animated films - like Lourdes Chan on Crazy Ex-Girfriend (and its 1.5 million views on its hit promo video), an...

Deborah Burns and I basically reenacted that line from "Pretty Woman" when we met over hors d'oeuvres at an industry event: "What happens when (s)he rescues the princess? (S)he rescues him right back!" We bonded over boredom and brie and traded business cards. The kind of exchange that means well, but ends up in the card pile of good intentions.But fate stepped in and just several days later we each showed up at a totally unrelated cocktail party! And that was the beginning of another r...

Joe Jaffe might have been a chemist if he hadn't fallen off a wall and broken his arm. The world, or at least the media world, is probably grateful to that wall. Hear how the strategist / keynoter / marketer / author turned happenstance into happy existence.The author of Built to Suck and four other non-fiction books on the state of media, marketing and advertising, tells me about his path from Big Agency life to his consultancy, HMS Beagle...and why it's even named that! (Think: Darwin...evo...

Ready for conversations with friends in high placesPersonally and professionally, I’ve somehow crossed paths or become friends with an incredible array of people who have made it to the top of their game. Though some people may describe their jobs by saying, “eh, it’s a living...” THESE are the people who can say, “It’s QUITE a living!” I don't take it for granted, but it's just always been that way. From growing up next to Jon Stewart to high school with future Tony winners, a career t...