Melissa Oliveri has been an artist her entire life. As an only child, she would spend hours entertaining herself by writing and illustrating stories, playing music, drawing, writing plays, making puppets and other crafts. This has translated into adulthood in the form of one person wearing many creative hats.As a musician, Melissa goes by the stage name Cannelle. She composes original songs in a variety of styles, often compared to Tori Amos, Regina Spektor, or Kate Bush. She also writes original music for her Podcast, The Skylark Bell. She likes to take a creative approach to songwriting, often including her audience in the task. An example of this are her "Post-It Project" songs, for which she requests people assign her a set number of words that she will build the song around. The topics she covers are also varied and can range from a dedication to a lost loved one, to a song about a salt shaker or a silly song about her disdain for the long winters she has known her whole life.After years of sitting on a series of unpublished books, a friend suggested Melissa turn one of her stories into a podcast. Being unfamiliar with podcasting, Melissa was hesitant, but the thought of composing original music for the podcast, including sound effects, and finally getting the story out to the world eventually won her over, and The Skylark Bell podcast was born. The podcast has not only proven to be a great success, it has inspired Melissa to imagine expanding The Skylark show beyond all dreams!https://melissaoliveri.com/abouthttps://www.instagram.com/cannelle.music/ @cannelle.musicLink Tree with all the things: https://linktr.ee/theskylarkbellSkylark Bell Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-skylark-bell/id1536238516

Sascha Stronach (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka Ki Puketeraki) is an author based in Pōneke, Aotearoa. His debut novel The Dawnhounds is a mind-bending fungal murder mystery described as 'Discworld Elysium'. If you encounter Sascha Stronach in the woods, shout and wave your arms to seem to bigger – this will intimidate the author.Publisher:  https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Sascha-Stronach/184950774Twitter: https://twitter.com/understatesmen?lang=enWebsite: https://www.theunderstatesmen.com/

Justin C.M. Brown is a visual artist, musician, writer, cook, and student in the Sociology Department at UCLA.He was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina and currently calls Los Angeles home.Most recently, he donated 3 pieces of his art to his alma mater, Santa Monica College, where they are on display in the library.He is also currently in Part XII of his year-long artistic effort "Inspired By True Events".His work can be found at JCMBmade.com, EmperorSteve.com, and ZodiacWaning.com, as well as on Instagram, Facebook, and Tiktok at “@jcmbmade”.

Zainab Imran is a poet, tutor, zine-maker and English Literature student of British Pakistani heritage based in Manchester, England. She writes on a multitude of racial and queer issues, with a particular focus on ethnic diaspora and the hidden stories of women in the colonial struggle. They currently run the poetry collective, 'Poets for Partition'. In 2022, she was awarded the Royal Society of Literature and Sky Arts Award for Poetry as an emerging writer of colour, through which she is now being mentored by Jay Bernard and is also currently working towards her first poetry pamphlet.This episode is a typical Iliad, poetry, Manchester, Industrial Revolution, Marx, History, What is Art?, Kirchner type of episode.Zainab Imran website: https://zainabthepoet.co.uk/Follow on Instagram @dark.academia.zainab and on Twitter @darkacademiazen

Corinne Halbert is a psychedelic horror artist with an extensive book collection. Her work is heavily influenced by an avid obsession with 1970s cult films and vintage comics. She's the creator of Acid Nun.Unedited production note from host Ken Volante “Whoa. What a ride. Zines, horror movies, found footage, dealing with tough things, Steven Seagal, old magazines, Electric Wizard, ACID NUN and more."Acid Nun is available here, or inquire at your local bookstore.Check out her website: https://corinnehalbert.com/Follow on instagram @corinnehalbert

Daniel Kern means so much to me and my learning. We met at Marquette University and he is responsible for my deeper interest in quantum physics, cosmology, Jesus Christ, and deeply humane ways of looking at philosophical questions.Dan and I chat and catch up on Episode 180 of Something (rather than nothing ) Podcast.We talk about his excellent book ‘A Reasonable Christian Faith.’ I told Dan about the surreal aspect of hearing his ‘voice’ in his book and feeling like he was chatting with me as l read it. Isn’t that grand?This podcast is in the top 5% of podcasts in the world. It is free and open. It is populist. It celebrates all creativity. It is liberationist and is arts-organizing in practice.

T Edward Bak is a cartoonist and illustrator exploring the crossroads of culture and the natural environment.We talked about art, service industry work, Alaska, graphic novels, Buddhism, Shunryu Suzuki, energy, ecology Saint Nagarjuna, Thomas Merton, Jack Kerouac and more . . .Follow on Instagram @t.edward.bakCheck out T Edward Bak's Website T Edward Bak TumblrSupport on PatreonPurchase his comics through Floating World ComicsPaypal quick links:(please contact for International)SEA OF TIME #1https://www.paypal.com/instantcommerce/checkout/6VMA7CGLMQDLQNOT A PLACE TO VISIThttps://www.paypal.com/instantcommerce/checkout/AB95GGGS7EZC2BAK BOOK BATCHhttps://www.paypal.com/instantcommerce/checkout/BMLJK9TCGUJTS

Illustrator Nicholas Friesen lives in Winnipeg, Canada with his wife and dog. He likes drawing sad robots, people wearing headphones, and robots wearing headphones.He creeated Olivia Sea. Who lives in music and comics.Follow all the links at https://linktr.ee/nicholastronautOlivia Sea "I Choo Choo Choose You" videoNicholas Friesen on Instagram @NicholastronautCheck out Nicolas and Oliva Sea at Toronto Comic Arts Festival April 29-30

Thick layers of oil paint encrust the canvases of Cape Cod-based painter Susan Carr, which reach out into the third dimension like small sculptural objects. Looking back toward artists like Phillip Guston, Willem De Kooning, and Robert Ryman, Carr works by applying paint to the canvas with a brush or trowel, working quickly (wet on wet) and determining the composition as she goes along. Though the works are abstract, shapes, symbols, or symbolic colors often emerge to elicit a reaction from the viewer, or more simply to guide the eye across the canvas. The works are meditations on musicality and the rhythms of language, Carr has said: “I write poetry so you could say, my paintings are poems without words. Poems dripping in color.""My eyes get hungry. I always want to feel the paint with my eyes."  ~Susan CarrSusan Carr on Instagram @susancarr88

B.L. BLANCHARDHer novel The Peacekeeper: "Against the backdrop of a never-colonized North America, a broken Ojibwe detective embarks on an emotional and twisting journey toward solving two murders, rediscovering family, and finding himself.North America was never colonized. The United States and Canada don’t exist. The Great Lakes are surrounded by an independent Ojibwe nation. And in the village of Baawitigong, a Peacekeeper confronts his devastating past.Twenty years ago to the day, Chibenashi’s mother was murdered and his father confessed. Ever since, caring for his still-traumatized younger sister has been Chibenashi’s privilege and penance. Now, on the same night of the Manoomin harvest, another woman is slain. His mother’s best friend. This leads to a seemingly impossible connection that takes Chibenashi far from the only world he’s ever known.The major city of Shikaakwa is home to the victim’s cruelly estranged family—and to two people Chibenashi never wanted to see again: his imprisoned father and the lover who broke his heart. As the questions mount, the answers will change his and his sister’s lives forever. Because Chibenashi is about to discover that everything about their lives has been a lie." About the author:'I am originally from Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, but I have lived in California for so long that I can no longer handle cold weather.I am an author, a mother, and an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, a federally-recognized tribe.I graduated from UC Davis’s inaugural undergraduate Creative Writing Honors Program in 2006 and was a Writing Fellow at Boston University School of Law. I can stare at maps all day and am obsessed with figure skating. I am constantly planning my next trip abroad. I will watch any documentary about space and space exploration you put in front of me. I’m always looking for new podcasts and shows about true crime.'https://blblanchard.com/BL Blanchard on Twitter:@blblanchardOn Instagram: @blblanchard_wrties

Organically gripping and raw, Hayley Lynn’s sultry timbres extend through the various depths of her vocal range as she is soft-spoken but packs a punch when her lyrical motifs drop.Lynn's first body of work “Bring on the Flames,” co-created with producer Kyle Devine, was performed to several sold out shows across the Northwest as well as placement in the Netflix Original shows “The Pier” and “Money Heist.” Since then, Lynn’s music has been placed on ABC, the 700 Club, and Big Ten Network, expanding Lynn’s reach to international audiences.  In addition to being a hometown favorite, Lynn is back on the road with breakthrough performances at festivals and venues such as Northwest Folklife, Oregon Country Fair, Winningstad Theater, Bloodworks Live Studio, Mississippi Studios, The Old Church Concert Hall, and touring through the U.S and Canada.Recently,  Lynn released her first solo debut album ‘Horizon’.  Many of the songs came as a means to heal. The pandemic was especially hard on artists and Lynn’s method of survival was to dive deep into the layers of her life, the feelings that arose and the distractions she used to cope. The result is a velvet voice wrapped in an ocean of sound that is cathartic to lose ourselves in.https://www.hayleylynnmusic.com/https://open.spotify.com/artist/3ustZQSFU19uRveWdTUeAdhttps://music.apple.com/us/artist/hayley-lynn/1374681637https://www.tiktok.com/@hayleylynnmusic?lang=enhttps://www.instagram.com/hayley_lynn_music/?hl=enhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqIuebsBOUfG6Kk-yeAtwIAhttps://www.facebook.com/HayleyLynnMusic/

"We're all living in a haunted house, and we're all being haunted by it."Breanna Cee Martins paints the mirage of an America that never existed, for people like her and entire swaths of the population of this country.  The artist’s watercolor paintings fall away from the viewer like a half-remembered dream; images of ghostly and phantom children, coming together to explode in kaleidoscopic colors.  Working from found black and white photos, the images metamorphose into Technicolor nightmares, the old made new.  Children dressed up as monsters, and monsters dressed up as children; these monochromatic visions glow with infernal light, watching the viewer, watch them.  Posed family photos capture the conflicts raging beneath the surface; the pause or unease creating narrative tension, a rift between what is expected and what’s seen, and better left unsaid.  They are images captured from the afterglow of a fading star, an apparition of our world growing dimmer amidst the passage of time.  These paintings confront you with pleading eyes, asking the viewer to delve deeper into the question, does this familial imagery have personal meaning to you?Or, is it evocative of an emotional scene you might have remembered, yet never experienced?https://www.breannamartins.com/

faetooth is a four-piece doom metal band based in Los Angeles, California. They officially formed in 2019, with Ashla Chavez Razzano (she/her) on guitar & vox, Jenna Garcia (she/they) on bass & vox, Ari May (they/them) on guitar & vox, and Rah Kanan (they/them) on drums. The quartet had already been friends for several years before the band's inception, instilling the confidence necessary to navigate personal vulnerability and vast musical experimentation.faetooth possesses the ability to bewitch listeners through trance-inducing riffs, alluring melodies, and rich lyricism that ranges from mysterious to diaristic. faetooth’s music is about the nature of the self, the natural world, and all of its enchanting mysteries.faetooth's Remnants of the Vessel  was named 2022 Heavy Metal Album of the Year. Special co-host Aidan 'Ace' Volante. Aidan (they/them) is an artist-musician who lives in Oregon and is currently a vocalist-in-training.Host: Ken Volante (he/him). Ken loves doom metal.Band members in episode: Ash, Ari, Jennafaetooth is available on Bandcamp, and all streaming services.Follow @faetooth on your favorite social media, including Instagram and their  YouTube channelFor a full list of links check out https://linktr.ee/faetooth

How to be an Ethical Slut is the award-winning solo by Brooke McCarthy. Experience the ride of your life as an unethical slut penetrates lies, STDs, triads, orgies, and love in her musical journey to becoming an Ethical Slut. Lead performer and solo daredevil - Brooke McCarthy is an actor, singer, dancer, content creator (YouTube: Bartender Brookie), playwright, and teaching artist. She holds her MFA in Acting from the University of Georgia. She's originally from NJ and currently resides in Charlotte, NC.Part solo show, part cabaret, the play covers the life of an unethical slut named Blake Valentini as she struggles between dating the socially acceptable way - monogamy - or daring to open her mind to unusual relationship pleasures and tribulations. This bold, sexy, and vulnerable story touches upon topics that are often unseen onstage such as sexual health and nonconventional relationship styles. Everyone, including Blake, may learn a thing or two about honesty and sexuality throughout this wild ride.The limited run in NYC 2023, plays February 18 - 27 at UNDER St. Marks in the East Village. How to be an Ethical Slut is directed by Robyn Accetta and has played to packed houses and won numerous awards in 2022 including the “Spirit of the Fringe” (St. Lou Fringe Festival), “Philly Fringie” Audience Choice Award (Philly Fringe), and the "Best of Fest" (Hartford Fringe Festival).Brooke McCarthy discussed what inspired her to write the show, “I wanted to share my personal journey with polyamory and all of the hard lessons it taught me about honesty, relationships, and owning our unique identities. Not only is non-monogamy not the norm in our society, but it was also something I did not talk about openly in my personal life nor is it something that appears often in a positive light on stage. I was inspired to use parts of my own life to craft a story that inspires honesty in our relationships while empowering us to embrace the unconventional ways that people may love each other. After all, love is love.” She went on to share, “Whether my audience identifies as polyamorous, monogamous, or polycurious, I hope they absorb a new perspective on life and love.Upcoming Performances of How to Be an Ethical SlutFrontera Festival in Austin, TX Jan 29, 30, Feb 4Frigid Fest NYC Feb 18-27Visit Brooke's homepage at http://www.howtobeanethicalslut.com/Follow Brooke on Instagram @howtobeanethicalslut and Tik Tok @howtobeanethicalslut

Rebecca Mills is an artist and arts professional who has  independently curated exhibits, facilitated events, wrote a successful one act play, and is a creative writer as well. She freelances as a teaching artist and arts educator, having taught youth and young adults through workshops, special programs, and as an adjunct professor. Her primary medium is oil painting with mixed media such as glitter, sequins, found objects, and very feminine materials. Rebecca's work is directly influenced by transcendentalism; involving science, philosophy, history, and discussions based on cultures, religions, and the ancient past. She is an activist for cow protection, veganism, and environmental preservation / restoration.https://www.ultraplasticgalaxy.com/

This land runs through Katherine Paul’s blood. And it called to her. In dreams she saw the river, her ancestors, and her home. When the land calls, you listen. And KP found herself far from her ancestral lands during a time of collective trauma, when the world was wounded and in need of healing. In 2020 she made the journey from Portland back to the Skagit River, back to the cedar trees that stand tall and shrouded in fog, back to the tide flats and the mountains, back to Swinomish.It is a powerful thing to return to our ancestral lands and often times the journey is not easy. Like the salmon through the currents, like the tide as it crawls to shore this is a story of return. It is the call and response. It is the outstretched arms of the people who came before, welcoming her home. The Land, The Water, The Sky is a celebration of lineage and strength. Even in its deepest moments of loneliness and grief, of frustration over a world wrought with colonial violence and pain, the songs remind us that if we slow down, if we listen to the waves and the wind through the trees, we will remember to breathe.There is a throughline of story in every song, a remembrance of knowledge and teachings, a gratitude of wisdom passed down and carried. There is a reimagining of Sedna who was offered to the sea, and a beautiful rumination on sacrifice and humanity, and what it means to hold the stories that work to teach us something. . .Special thanks to co-host Bonita Randklev.https://www.blackbelteaglescout.com/

Show creators Ken Volante (Creator and Host) and Peter Bauer (Editor and Producer) have a fun conversation that will let you know what THINGS you will see in 2023!We hope you enjoy this conversation and that some of the bigger ideas inspire you in your ART and LIFE.ONE LOVE!Check out Peter's workFlaming Bison- Freeform Cosmic Groove: https://flamingbison.bandcamp.com/ https://youtu.be/NJGdcKfgyp8High Cascade Lakes- Guided Meditations: https://highcascadelakes.bandcamp.com/album/aniccaSomething (rather than nothing) thanks you.

SRTN's visiting Philosopher, Jakub Ferencik is back!We first heard from Jakub Ferencik in Episode 60. Then Jakub wrote another book (!) entitled Beyond Reason: Why We Fail at Understanding Each Other.  Jakub and host Ken Volante discusssed that work in SRTN Episode 130.For this episode, Ferencik helps engage complicated topics such as censorhsip, hate speech, and free speech with attention to the complicated engine of  modern social media. Enjoy this conversation and help formulate the conceptual backdrop for these important conversations.

Shara Nova has released five albums under the moniker My Brightest Diamond and has composed works for The Crossing, Conspirare, Cantus Domus, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Roomful of Teeth, many community choirs, as well as yMusic, Brooklyn Rider, violist Nadia Sirota, Aarhus Symfoni, North Carolina Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, American Composers Orchestra and the BBC Concert Orchestra, among others.In 2019, she composed for over 600 community musicians and the Cincinnati Symphony in celebration of their 125th season, a piece entitled "Look Around," with director Mark DeChiazza. Her baroque chamber p’opera “You Us We All” premiered in the US in October 2015 at BAM Next Wave Festival. With co-composer and performer Helga Davis, Nova created a four-screen film entitled “Ocean Body,” along with director Mark DeChiazza, which premiered at The Momentary in August 2021, shortly followed by the premiere of “Infinite Movement,” her baroque masque for 100 musicians, set to text by artist Matthew Ritchie, which premiered at The University of North Texas in November 2021.Ms. Nova is the featured singer on “The Blue Hour” with the string orchestra A Far Cry and co-composers Rachel Grimes, Angélica Negrón, Sarah Kirkland Snider and Caroline Shaw on Nonesuch Records (Sept ‘22).  A collection of songs by Nico Muhly with Detroit’s acclaimed wind ensemble Akropolis Quintet also features Ms. Nova’s voice entitled Hymns for Private Use (Oct ‘22). A number of music composers, including Sarah Kirkland Snider, Bryce and Aaron Dessner, Steve Mackey and David Lang have created works specifically for her voice. She has collaborated with Matthew Barney, The Decemberists, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Sufjan Stevens, David Byrne, Laurie Anderson, and many others.Shara has a couple different branches to her life:Singer and Composer Branch: https://shara-nova.com/Pop Music Branch: https://www.mybrightestdiamond.com/Instagram: @mybrightestdiamondTwitter: @MyBrightestDmndWriting on Substack: https://substack.com/profile/91251132-shara-nova

After releasing her first EP ‘everything is light work’ in May 2021, Blair  Borax released her debut full-length album “Keep Walking” in June 2022.“Keep Walking” will take you on an emotional journey of moving forward ~with your head held high~ beyond trauma and heartache.It is the perfect companion to help you keep walking too.New single 'Delight Me' out on December 9, 2022.Check out her website for calendar update and merch blairborax.comFollow Blair on Instagram and TikTok @blairartthouHer music is available on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp, and wherever you listen to music.https://www.blairborax.com/