Katherine Gotsick with Main Dempster Mile

I often ask the question ... can a neighborhood have a personality? Yes it can! Here's how...

I have watched with interest the Main Demspter Mile SSA in Evanston come to life in the last several years. (SSA = special services area). Last November MDM hired Executive Director Katherine Gotsick and she has brought a certain kind of energy and creativity to her job. It's an exciting time for the MDM SSA!

In this interview we talk about how MDM is making positive changes to the commercial strip of Chicago Ave. in Evanston from South Blvd. to Greenwood, east/west on Dempster and east/west on Main. The MDM Vision: To be a creative urban environment with an iconic small town personality. These changes include creative place making projects (a mural by Ruben Aguirre thanks to Evanston Mural Arts Program outdoor seating, donation stations, etc.), fundraisers (Charity Wine Walk), Small Business Saturday and more.

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"The Lisa D Show" is a podcast celebrating creatives, featuring 20-minute, unedited conversations that mimic the live-radio vibe, very low tech on purpose. Reach out to host Lisa Degliantoni at thelisadshow[at]gmail.com

Terry Gant, Part 2, on the Black Panther and Diversity in Comics

In part two of our conversation with Terry Gant of Third Coast Comics in Chicago, we talk about the Black Panther comic series and Terry's top picks. 

The Black Panther comic character (around since the 1960s) has recently jumped into the mainstream comics chatter thanks to an upcoming movie (Feb. 2018), a hip young artist singing the theme song (Kweku Collins, ETHS alum) and an intro by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Check out the trailer for Marvel's Black Panther movie here.
 
Listen to Terry wax poetic on Black Panther and how comics embrace and dismiss diversity trends in the last 20 years.

Terry’s Bio

Terry Gant of the South Side Gants, is the owner of Third Coast Comics in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood. In the summer of 2008 Third Coast Comics became a “Brick and Mortar” operation and has been a thorn in the side of boredom and complacency ever since.

The original business model of local delivery of comics to you at your home, workplace or favorite bar resembled the business model of an industrious drug dealer and proved to be just as sustainable.

Terry earned his BA in Marketing (focusing on geeks) from DePaul University and would consider a MA in Marketing (again to geeks) if he ever planned to get another day job, which he hopes he never has to do.

Terry is 50% of all of the African American comic book retailers in the Midwest and has been paid to play Dungeons & Dragons. He has also parlayed all of his nerd cred into about 30 minutes and 20 seconds on both NPR and Good Morning America in the past year.

Terry is also co-host of Stakes is High: THE Black Nerd Podcast, is obsessed with heavy metal, 80's new wave, pro wrestling and the video game, Skyrim.

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"The Lisa D Show" is a podcast celebrating creatives, featuring 20-minute, unedited conversations that mimic the live-radio vibe, very low tech on purpose. Reach out to host Lisa Degliantoni at thelisadshow[at]gmail.com

Nicholas Barron, Blues Singer and Visual Artist

Because this podcast is designed to be "low tech" on purpose and to sound like a live-radio interview/real conversation between two humans, I rarely, if ever, know where the conversations will go. My task is to find interesting and creative humans working on interesting and creative projects and record a 20 minute conversation with them, in the hopes that I will create an interesting and creative podcast. Hopefully you enjoy listening to this style of interview and if you do, share it with a friend. -Lisa

Nicholas Barron has been making a living as a blues singer for 32 years, singing blues, emulating the voices of the great jazz and blues singers he heard from his mother's record collection. In today's conversation we talk about sounding "black" intentionally (and successfully) as a white blues/jazz singer and connecting with your audience, even when they are surprised to see a white performer at a Blues Club.

Candid and funny and incredibly open, this conversation shows how deeply Nicholas cares for his craft and the art of blues. We barely get to the topic of Nicholas' painting career, which started less than 10 years ago with his dad helping hang his first show in Chicago, which sold more than 80% of his works on display. A strong first showing.

You can hear Nicholas sing on YouTube or live Thursday, Aug. 10, The Strapping Owls are a New Orleans/Chicago Tuba Bassed power trio playing at 210 Live, at 210 Greenbay Road in Highwood next to Highland park 8-11 p.m.

Bio: Chicago-based singer-songwriter-guitarist Nicholas Barron was called "undeniable" by the great James Taylor who introduced him as the launch artist for the New York Times emerging artists series at Joe's pub in New York City, "Amazing" by Jay Leno, and "the real deal" by Wayne Jackson of the legendary Memphis horns who recorded on his CD "Love Soldier".

He recorded that CD in Los Angeles with famed producer/mixer Dave Way, who got the Memphis Horns on the record which got him to the folks who made him the launch artist for The New York Times emerging artists series at Joe’s pub in New York City.

Nicholas started as a street performer in London and then Chicago, where he founded CASA (coalition for the advancement of street art) to fight the city of chicago who were trying to ban it, and won!

He is one of the most unique guitarists around, mixing mouth percussion with funky baselines and chords and sounding like a whole band by himself.

His last CD "Two of one Mind" was funded through a successful Kickstarter campaign in November 2014. It's 10 songs of blues infused acoustic songs in the classic world of Clapton, Hiatt, Raitt, etc.

He has opened for some of the greatest artists of our time including: BB King, Al Green, Buddy Guy, James Taylor, Shawn Colvin, Dave Mason, John Martyn, Johnny Cash, and on and on!

Learn more about Nicholas:

NicholasBarron.com

Facebook.com/chicagonicholasbarron

@nicholasbarron on Twitter and Instagram

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 "The Lisa D Show" is a podcast celebrating creatives, featuring 20-minute, unedited conversations that mimic the live-radio vibe, very low tech on purpose. Reach out to host Lisa Degliantoni at thelisadshow[at]gmail.com

Terry Gant, owner of Third Coast Comics in Chicago

Terry has been walking my house for months, always in shorts regardless of the weathers (hats, jackets, etc., but never pants). When we have the chance to talk as he walks by he often says “If I wanted to wear pants, I’d get a job!” For months I thought Terry was my neighbor who walked around in shorts and didn’t have a job.

Recently a listener of this podcast sent an email full of recommendations of Evanston creatives to interview, one was Terry, my neighbor. Turns out Terry is the owner of Third Coast Comics in Chicago, is the co-host of Stakes is High: The Black Nerd Podcast, and so much more than just a man in shorts.

Terry’s Bio

Terry Gant of the South Side Gants, is the owner of Third Coast Comics in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood. In the summer of 2008 Third Coast Comics became a “Brick and Mortar” operation and has been a thorn in the side of boredom and complacency ever since.

The original business model of local delivery of comics to you at your home, workplace or favorite bar resembled the business model of an industrious drug dealer and proved to be just as sustainable.

Terry earned his BA in Marketing (focusing on geeks) from DePaul University and would consider a MA in Marketing (again to geeks) if he ever planned to get another day job, which he hopes he never has to do.

Terry is 50% of all of the African American comic book retailers in the Midwest and has been paid to play Dungeons & Dragons. He has also parlayed all of his nerd cred into about 30 minutes and 20 seconds on both NPR and Good Morning America in the past year.

Terry is also co-host of Stakes is High: THE Black Nerd Podcast, is obsessed with heavy metal, 80's new wave, pro wrestling and the video game, Skyrim.

***

"The Lisa D Show" is a podcast celebrating creatives, featuring 20-minute, unedited conversations that mimic the live-radio vibe, very low tech on purpose. Reach out to host Lisa Degliantoni at thelisadshow[at]gmail.com