Episodes

  • Singing For Bliss With Kathy Kennedy

    Singing For Bliss With Kathy Kennedy
    Oct 16 2024
    This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life welcomes marvellous community builder, multi-disciplinary sound artist, and relative social butterfly Kathy Kennedy. I met Kathy at one of the 17 Christmas parties she was invited to in 2022. Before that I knew her from when she directed the extraordinary women’s choir Choeur Maha. A conversation and a half with Kathy and I soon discovered that Kathy is as iconic as her far-reaching projects. Her magic awaits, right here on your favourite podcast platform! We even have a few hot takes from Kathy’s spectacular recordings. Listen all the way through, and check out the time stamps below to savour the highlights! (Full shownotes here.)Kathy Kennedy’s Episode00:00 Rousing and arousing intro song and bio 3:07 Quick and very fun break! Don’t forget to follow This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life and leave a five-star review. Also, please track down Erica and Kathy on Instagram and across the interwebs. 4:22 Interview starts. Question One: How did Kathy get started on her journey to creating this very unique art that requires a certain amount of equipment, a lot of skill? Turns out, Kathy moved from the Gaspé to Montréal as a tween. The assault of noise pollution and hormones left a drastic impact. 7:20 On Kathy’s lifelong fascination: the difference between listening and hearing. 8:05 The definition of acoustic ecology: the study of living beings and their sonic environment. This field was initially ununcovered by R. Murray Schafer who happens to be a Canadian. Go, R. Murray Schafer! His obituary on the cbc.ca was a pretty good read!8:55 Noise pollution and industry in nature, particularly in the ocean is affecting our animal friends. Whales are having a hard time mating! So are the humans. And they’ve discovered that birds are chirping at a higher decibel. 9:30 To cope with the grating sonar landscape, Kathy turned to art and sound (plus a touch of drugs and rock ‘n roll). Thank 11:10 The importance of bringing people together to sing. Kathy believes that singing is our birthright and not just for Celine and American idols. Kind of like Lynne Adams says that if you have a body, you are a dancer, Kathy insists that if you have a voice, then you are a singer! She says, “Singing is a gift.” Be that happy person who’s singing along to the radio in the supermarket. 17:30 Voice coaching and the healing power of helping people find, accept, and embrace their true voice. “I’m trying to focus on the concept of your voice healing you and making you feel good as opposed to wanting to sound any particular way.” 23:03 Fun excerpt from Kathy’s lovingly and painstakingly mixed recordings.23:53 How does Kathy get invited to so many parties? Kathy shares the interesting conundrum of being an introverted workaholic artist whose projects overlap with all kinds of wonderful people. Hear about Kathy’s vision of the good enough café, a non-pretentious opportunity for people to eat and commune in a not amazing but good enough place for her peeps to hang out and luxuriate in each other’s company like it’s the eighties in Montréal.31:01 Another soothing and invigorating excerpt of Kathy’s splendid recording!31:34 Like Daniel Allen Cox, Kathy Kennedy is yet another house fire twin! Kathy shares how her apartment fire was nothing short of a miracle that led her into a state of bliss (and possibly a touch of mania). 44:17 Listener Question from Hurt Inner Child: A daughter looks to her mother for support after a job interview. Guess how that went? Kathy and Erica can’t fix it, but they have thoughts about when to call your parents for best results. 56:28 Our last little bit from Kathy’s exquisite sound art.56:40 Morning routines, creative routines, cleaning routines, and Kathy’s spectacular TED talk: Kathy’s rituals in plant care, the struggle to transcend technology and fumble into a flow state, how to navigate neighbours and loud hobbies, procrasticleaning, rage cleaning, and more. Stay tuned for Kathy’s imminent book!Half-bad ukulele segment: If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lightfoot. Thank you to Lisa at Ukulele Fools for this delightful tutorial. Sing along loud and proud and if you’re playing along, we have the capo on 1!Thank you, Kathy Kennedy! What a blast!Links, Resources, and Recommended EpisodesFollow Kathy Kennedy on Instagram @kathykennedy.ca or on Facebook. Her glorious website is kathykennedy.ca.Follow Erica on Facebook or Instagram or check out her website at ericajschmidt.com. You can also make her day by sending her a listener question to any of these places.Recommended Episodes: 5 Rhythms With Lynne Adams, Hot Dates Frenching With Lou Laurence, and Moments of Joy With Al Lafrance.Listener Question from Hurt Inner ChildDear Erica and Kathy, My relationship with my mother has always been complicated. Most recently, I had a job interview I felt really confident about. I called her right after telling her how I had a ...
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    1 hr and 18 mins
  • Better Out Than In With Alo Azimov

    Better Out Than In With Alo Azimov
    Oct 1 2024
    I had my first conversation with Alo Azimov during my two-star summer of wretched mental health.Before that I knew Alo from her candid and hilarious stand-up sets at queer-friendly venues across the city. If you’ve been at the same shows as Alo, you’ll recognize her unmistakeable and uproarious laughter that reverberates the venue walls and vodka bottles. In the throes of my break-up grief (and worse), I told Alo about one terrible day after another, the crapshoot of emotional regulation, and whether to embark on a fraught course of pharmaceuticals. As I vented, I discovered that Alo was a conscientious, compassionate conversationalist, and I thought, when the podcast comes back to life, she needs an episode. So, here we are!ALO AZIMOV’S EPISODEOn the pod, we talk about Alo’s comedic origin story, how she used to have to wear baggy hoodies so that people couldn’t see how much she was sweating and shaking, how failure became a motivator to keep getting up on stage, how she eventually overcame most of her performance anxiety and how she overcame most of her performance anxiety (with a little help from therapy). We discuss the difference between comedy and storytelling, citing my darling bestie Sherwin who claims that storytelling comes from the heart, while comedy aims lower from your gut and your junk. Alo shares her mental health journey, and how her bipolar disorder affects and does not affect her comedy. (Hint: You don’t have to be manic to be an artist, and medication will not destroy all your creativity.) We dig into medication, with its ups and downs and tradeoffs. (NEVER GO OFF YOUR MEDS BASED ON ANYTHING YOU HEAR ON THIS PODCAST OR THE INTERNET!) There’s some talk of lost will to live and suicidal ideation, but we infuse tough topics with riveting charm, and in general, the content warning is milder than anticipated. Our listener question from My House Smells Really Bad! Please Help! features a devastating roommate conundrum. Alo and Erica can’t fix it—but our thoughts are pragmatic and decisive. Make sure to listen to the end for Alo’s morning, creative, and cleaning routines, plus the title and topic of her life’s most spectacular TED talk. Like Alo, this is a thoughtful and generous episode, and the perfect interview to break the sad summer hiatus. THANK YOU, ALO!LINKS AND RECOMMENDED EPISODESFULL SHOWNOTES ON ERICA’S WEBSITEAlo Azimov, LIVE AT LADYFEST MONTREAL with Abby Stonehouse on House of Stone PodcastFollow Alo on Instagram @alo_aziCatch Alo’s performances at Stand-up Saint Henri, the Polymic, and Tales of Gender Affirmation.Follow Erica on Facebook or Instagram or check out her website at ericajschmidt.com. You can also make her day by sending her a listener question to any of these places.And if you enjoyed this episode, you’ll love Painting Boundaries with Painting Boundaries With Bean Nunnerley, Dream Jobs With John Cotrocois, and Laughs for All With Abby Stonehouse.ABOUT ALO AZIMOVAlo Azimov is a cherished comedian, host, and producer on the Montréal stand-up scene. She is also a delightful audience member. Her laughter is unmistakable and beautifully encouraging. It makes the whole show a better place. Alo’s stand-up offers an eclectic mix of hilarious musings on mental health, family problems, gender identity, and the absurd anecdotes that make life worth remembering. You can catch Alo on stages across the city, with regular appearances at Stand-up Saint Henri,the Polymic, and Tales of Gender Affirmation, which she founded and produces and which offers a supportive and empowering environment for queer and trans artists.LISTENER QUESTION FROM MY HOUSE SMELLS REALLY BAD! PLEASE HELP!Dear Erica and Alo,I live in a student house with 3 other tenants, I'm only really friends with 2 of them although not through lack of effort, the other girl just does not give me nor anyone the time of day. Always awkward in passing and never more than a one-word response in conversation. She is somewhat friends with the other girl we live with and she has told me that she hasn't washed her bedding all year - maybe 10months. She is disgusting, her room smells vile of just body odur from I can only assume is clothes and bedding that's gone unwashed and is so messy and dirty it looks like it should be on a hoarder programme.Now I don't want to make comments on her room as she doesn't know I've seen it (the other girl showed me because she was concerned) but I have messaged about the smell because it's really quite disgusting as it's built more over time and guests/visitors/girlfriends/boyfriends have all commented on it, literally everyone who has visited the house. The main issue here is how do I get her to change?! She ignored my message and the smell is so bad I can smell her B.O. in my room (our doors are adjacent). It's one thing to smell like that but its another to not make any effort but what can I do next to try and resolve this? Any help is appreciated because my...
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    1 hr and 18 mins
  • Alexia and Erica Can’t Fix It. But We Have Thoughts. (Summer Sprinkles Edition)

    Alexia and Erica Can’t Fix It. But We Have Thoughts. (Summer Sprinkles Edition)
    Jul 30 2024
    Back due to wild popularity, we have the exuberant and life-enhancing, Alexia Côté, here for yet another all-advice episode. Tune in as we tackle a fascinating round of puzzling-to-devastating listener questions. Quandaries/Train Wrecks come from:The Best Friend Fadeaway: She’s drifting apart from her ostensibly draining and judgy BFF. Should she just let the friendship fizzle? Is a mature and honest conversation truly necessary?I Wanna Look Cute on Tinder Too: An identical twin uses pictures from her photogenic sister to land dates on the apps. Does this count as catfishing? Must she stop?Playing Second Fiddle to Her Little Brother: He snoops and finds his girlfriend might be hot for a family friend she calls her “Little Brother.” They even have a pact to get married if they’re both single when he finishes college. Is this the mess it feels like, or is he being paranoid?Alexia and Erica can’t fix it. But we have thoughts.Since she last appeared on Episode 20 of This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life, Alexia has enjoyed a delightful whirlwind of creative thrills. For example, she got into Montreal Fringe last minute and totally nailed it. La Germaine et le Vieux Criss premiered to rave reviews and two Frankie nominations including Best Storytelling Show. Congratulations, Alexia! Follow Alexia on Instagram @sidealexia so you don’t miss her next exciting news. In more upsetting news, Montréal’s beloved Mainline Theatre recently experienced dramatic flooding. They were already hoping to raise a bunch of funds to account for pandemic losses. But now with the extensive damages, they need our help more than ever. The fundraiser is doing great, but it would be splendid if we could give them some extra support. Every bit helps. Here’s the link to the fundraiser. Thank you so much!Half-bad Ukulele Segment: Seabird by the Alessi Brothers. Solidly half-bad!If you enjoyed this episode, you will also enjoy, Moments of Joy With Al Lafrance, and Caroline and Erica Can’t Fix It, and Erica and Alexia Can’t Fix It. But We Have Thoughts.Thank you so much for listening! To support this independent podcast, please consider purchasing a Lil and Bud dog greeting card at ericajschmidt.com/merch. You can also make a one-time donation here at The Donate Button. Feel free to get in touch for other sponsorship possibilities. My infinite thanks for all of this.More infinite thanks, as always, to Taes Leavitt (darling big sister, Big Heart Journey), Sherwin Tjia (technical and creative advisor, Sherwin’s Quirky Events, Episode 22) and my dearly departed aunt Eileen Gun, whose generous gift helped to fund my new podcast equipment. And infinite thanks to you, my dear listeners! Stay tuned for more episodes extra soon. Don’t forget to follow This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life on your favourite podcast platform. And if you enjoyed this episode, I would be immensely grateful if you could share it with a friend and/or leave a kind and enthusiastic rating and review.
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    53 mins
  • Moment(s) of Joy With Al Lafrance

    Moment(s) of Joy With Al Lafrance
    Jul 2 2024
    Today my guest is the Montreal Fringe and Canadian Heartthrob Al Lafrance. I caught Al during this year’s Fringe and it was a dream come true. Over iced tea and zero air conditioning, we reminisce about Al’s prolific Fringe and haiku career, his cringey and champion insomnia, how not sleeping and other mental health adventures help and don’t help creativity, how Al’s brain’s doing now, thrift stores, hoarding, cleaning routines, plus a 5-star listener question from How Much Tea Should I Spill, a would-be artist who’s dying to write their juicy and incriminating opus but they’re worried they’re family will sue them. And not to be missed, we wrap up with Al’s first and last singing performance of everybody’s favourite punk rock 90s hit Basket Case. Transcend the bottom of the u-shaped curve with moments of joy with Al Lafrance. If you love Al’s soothing and hilarious, spot-on rambly shows, you will love this episode.About Al LafranceAl Lafrance is a veteran and idol in the delicate and risky art of the one-human show. (We all know these can go either way. But for Al, they always go the right way!) Time and again, Al has taken to the stage in bare feet and a statement t-shirt. He is famous for enthralling audiences and leading them to laugh their faces off. Al has the enviable gift of infusing humour and fascination into life’s most unlikely crevices, whether that’s insomnia, trampoline injuries, fast food jobs, beards, mental health, or obscure award-winning board games. To watch Al Lafrance do his thing is to be captivated, to restore your faith in humanity and to rediscover the magic of creativity. Same thing goes for listening to this interview!Follow Al Lafrance on Instagram @notsoweirdalSlide into Al’s DMs and tell him all about your creative failures and moments of joy! Bonus points for selfies of you in a rubber chicken hat!Al Lafrance’s WebsiteStay tuned for tickets to Al’s Show Is This Yours, This August 16-25 at the Edmonton Fringe FestivalResources and Recommended EpisodesIsland of the Sequinned Love Nun by Christopher MooreIf you enjoyed this episode, you will also enjoy, Quirky Events With Sherwin Tjia, Default Creative Settings With Paul de Tourreil, Hot Dates and Frenching With Lou Laurence, andErica and Alexia Can’t Fix It. But We Have Thoughts.Half Bad Ukulele Segment: Basket Case. Thank youUkulele Cheats for this splendid ukulele tutorial!Follow Erica on Facebook or Instagram or check out her website at ericajschmidt.com. You can also make her day by sending her a listener question to any of these places.Listener Question With How Much Tea Should I Spill?Dear Erica and Al,I have all these crazy stories from my family and fucked up childhood. I want to turn them into art, butI’m worried about compromising other people’s privacy. Some of the parties involved have not treated me well. In these cases, I don’t care about their feelings and feel like any repercussions would be worth it. At the same time, I don’t want to jeopardize my relationships with certain friends and siblings. Plus, couldn’t anybody take me to court and sue me? How do I write my opus while avoiding a lawsuit and other complications?Love, How Much Tea Should I Spill?Thank you so much for listening! To support this independent podcast, please consider purchasing a Lil and Bud dog greeting card at ericajschmidt.com/merch. You can also make a one-time donation here at The Donate Button.Feel free to get in touch for other sponsorship possibilities. My infinite thanks for all of this.More infinite thanks, as always, to Taes Leavitt (darling big sister, Big Heart Journey), Sherwin Tjia (technical and creative advisor, Sherwin’s Quirky Events,Episode 22) and my dearly departed aunt Eileen Gun, whose generous gift helped to fund my new podcast equipment.And infinite thanks to you, my dear listeners! Stay tuned for more episodes extra soon. Don’t forget to followThis Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life on your favourite podcast platform. And if you enjoyed this episode, I would be immensely grateful if you could share it with a friend and/or leave a kind and enthusiastic rating and review.
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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • Bandwidth and Boundaries With Iris Bahr

    Bandwidth and Boundaries With Iris Bahr
    Jun 25 2024
    I met Iris Bahr at the 2024 Montreal Fringe Festival where she premiered her spectacular one-woman show, “Stories From the Brink.” I laughed endlessly! Afterwards, I was super smooth and awkwardly asked Iris if she would like to be the most famous person to ever appear on This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life. And Iris very generously said yes. What a thrill!Iris and I recorded outside on Avenue Duluth so you’ll get an authentic Montréal experience, complete with birds, tourists, and exciting cobblestone traffic. We talk about creative routines (or lack thereof), the pénurie de main d’oeuvre, the boundaries we didn’t inherit, the guilt we did inherit, our relationships with our mothers, that time when Iris saw her mother have a stroke over video chat, the years of caregiving that followed, Iris’s autistic brother who grew up in a group home, grief, art, humour, healing, the quandary of online dating, neurotic moments with the dust buster, plus the magical line, “I don’t have the bandwidth for that right now.”About Iris BahrIris Bahr is a multi-talented, multi-voiced writer, artist, and performer. Iris was on her way to becoming a neuroscientist when she changed her mind and decided to pursue a career in acting. This led to all kinds of dreamy creative projects. Iris took up stand-up comedy, she wrote a couple of memoirs, and she appeared on a whole bunch of TV shows, including Friends, The Drew Carey Show, and maybe you’ve heard of Curb Your Enthusiasm? The peeps over there concluded that Iris was so perfect for the role of Rachel Heineman, that they shut down the audition process.In 2010, Iris pitched, wrote, produced, and starred in her original TV series, Svetlana. Meanwhile, she has channeled her colourful childhood and sometimes devastating past into multiple, masterful, and very very very funny one-woman shows. Stay tuned for imminent runs of Stories From the Brink, a hilarious ride through a remarkable number of near-death experiences. The fabulous show won a Frankie at the 2024 Montreal Fringe Fest. (Congrats! So well deserved!) And coming up at the Toronto Fringe (July 3-14), Iris will be performing “See You Tomorrow,” a poignant and heartfelt comedy about parenting a parent with dementia. I highly recommend jumping at any opportunity to watch Iris do her magic on stage. Iris, it was a joy to have you on the pod! Thank you so much! Until we meet again, See you tomorrow!Links to Iris Bahr’s WorkIris Bahr’s Website at irisbahr.comInstagram @iris.bahrIris Bahr on FacebookIris Bahr’s Workshopsand CoachingTickets to “See You Tomorrow” at the Toronto Fringe (July 3-14)Resources and Recommended EpisodesBurned Haystack Dating Method™The Boy in the Moon by Ian BrownDiscovering Autism With Maha Abdelhak CavalcantiFat Liberation With Emma LanzaMore Episodes With Delightful Comedians:Just for Laughs With Andrew KhouryWhy We’re Still Single With Mariam KhanLaughs for All With Abby StonehouseDream Jobs With John CotrocoisFollow Erica on Facebook or Instagram or check out her website at ericajschmidt.com. You can also make her day by sending her a listener question to any of these places.Listener Question from “Caught Short of Words”Dear Erica and Iris Bahr,At a recent family gathering, my cousin and I were drinking it up andhaving fun dancing outside with some others. My cousin thinks it so funny to fart and watch peoples’ reactions, but this time when he pushed real hard, it was not a fart that came out. When he turned around, the back of his pants were coated, but he just kept dancing and laughing, not knowing the disaster he made in his downstairs department. I didn’t say anything, and others saw it eventually and he was mortified. He isn’t speaking to me anymore because he says I should have told him. Did I do something wrong?Love, Caught Short of WordsThank you so much for listening! To support this independent podcast, please consider purchasing a Lil and Bud dog greeting card at ericajschmidt.com/merch. You can also make a one-time donation here at The Donate Button.Feel free to get in touch for other sponsorship possibilities. My infinite thanks for all of this.More infinite thanks, as always, to Taes Leavitt (darling big sister, Big Heart Journey), Sherwin Tjia (technical and creative advisor, Sherwin’s Quirky Events,Episode 22) and my dearly departed aunt Eileen Gun, whose generous gift helped to fund my new podcast equipment.And infinite thanks to you, my dear listeners! Stay tuned for more episodes extra soon. Don’t forget to followThis Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life on your favourite podcast platform. And if you enjoyed this episode, I would be immensely grateful if you could share it with a friend and/or leave a kind and enthusiastic rating and review.
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    Less than 1 minute
  • 5 Rhythms With Lynne Adams

    5 Rhythms With Lynne Adams
    Jun 18 2024
    “If you have a body, you are a dancer.” -Lynne Adams Lynne Adams is a vibrant and enthusiastic actor, dancer, chocoholic and certified 5Rhythms® teacher. Lynne discovered the practice of 5Rhythms® after a total hip replacement left her depressed and grappling with chronic pain. Over a decade later, Lynne shares this powerful practice with hundreds of devoted students who come to dance each week where they experience transformation through music, connection, breath, sweat, creativity, and community. Lynne believes that “the dance floor is a mirror to our lives, reawakening our potential and purpose.” She says that coming home to our bodies in a compassionate and creative way is key to healing this world, one step at a time, one dance at a time.” It was so special to have Lynne on the show! Gosh, what an episode. Instead of the half-bad ukulele segment, Lynne convinced me to participate in a first-ever improv accapella sound bath. I hope you listen all the way to the end, and I hope you love it. And remember, “If you have a body, you are a dancer.”
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    Less than 1 minute
  • Art, Drugs, and Meditation With James Paterson

    Art, Drugs, and Meditation With James Paterson
    Jun 4 2024
    Content Warning: Drugs, meditation, and naked cleaning. Also, mention of mental health challenges, self-abuse, and suicidal ideation. It remains a blast of an episode!James Paterson has been contemplating the Universe since he was four years old when he would stay up all night listening to Jean-Michel Jarred’s new age synthesizer cassette on his Fischer Price tape deck. Growing up in the 80s and 90s, he showed great promise with computers, but as a teenager, he shifted his energy to drawing in an effort to impress the ladies. Today, James’s work dances around the intersection between drawing, animation, and code. James is fascinated in the points of resonance where these disciplines collide. Grounded in quirky and truly singular drawings, James’s art takes us on an immersive and mesmerizing journey, whether through prints, animation, virtual reality, or these peculiar and life-changing 3-D shapes. I was once the proud owner of an exquisite penis-like finger scroll and I was pleased about this, though alas, the piece did not fare well in my house fire. James is an avid meditator, and integrates meditation into his creative practice, which is as deep as they come and the realest deal I’ve ever seen. This episode was a massive treat and a must-listen for anyone with a quirky, creative, and fluctuating brain. Thank you, James, for this fun fab interview!!!James Paterson on This Is Your Strange and Beautiful LifeJames’s Morning Routine: He’s up at the ass crack, and you’re invited! To spread his love for meditation, James hosts a daily online sitting practice from 5 to 6 a.m. It’s not as austere as it sounds! Drop in anytime. It’s lurker and introvert-friendly. Come late, leave early, judgment free. James promises you don’t need to be a good meditator, and suggests that maybe there’s no such thing. Sit with James and Friends right here.Meditation and Creative Practice and Mental Health: For James, meditation has been instrumental in every aspect of his life. But as far as zealots go, he is palatable and gentle. In fact, he claims that meditation should probably come with a warning label on the bottle. Like it can blow your life apart, especially if you throw in psychedelics. More on that later. Can Meditation Help With Challenging Mind States? Sure, but in an acute mental health crisis, meditation may not be your thing, and it’s certainly not a cure. Doctors and therapists and collages and gardening, these are all great too. Erica loves collages. And library books. Three Buddhist Phrases to Describe James’s Awakening-Slash-That-Time-When-Meditation-and Psychedelics Blew Up His LifeGood in the beginning. Good in the middle. Good in the end.It’s best not to start, but if you do start, it’s best to finish.Once you get the message, hang up the phone. We dove pretty deep into drugs and meditation and awakening but James also had a lot to say about art and creativity. James is impressively disciplined about facing the blank page and perservering until you can’t criticize yourself because you forget that you’re a person trying to make a thing. The experts call this the flow state. And while James’ commitment and body of work appear dreamy and enviable, he assures me that he struggles with finishing things, and that he procrastinates, just like the best of us. These days, focus has become a little easier. And to make it even easier, James just set up a silent, body-doubling work container every day from 10AM to 3PM EST. Hit up a flow state with James right here at presstube.com/work/. What a hustler!Speaking of hustlers, James generously shared the goods on his brief career as a naked cleaner. I may have exerted some influence. Never has our cleaning segment involved so much nudity! Listen to the end so you don’t miss it!Connect With James PatersonInstagram: @presstubeWebsite: presstube.comDaily Sit: Zoom Link HereBody Doubling Container: presstube.com/work/If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy Chill Creative Flow With Jeff Gandell, Are Men Okay? With Keith Serry, or Curiosity With Michelle Syba (Author of End Times).Do You Meditate? By Erica J. SchmidtFollow Erica on Facebook or Instagram or check out her website at ericajschmidt.com. You can also make her day by sending her a listener question to any of these places.Thank you so much for listening! To support this independent podcast, please consider purchasing a Lil and Bud dog greeting card at ericajschmidt.com/merch. You can also make a one-time donation here at The Donate Button. Feel free to get in touch for other sponsorship possibilities. My infinite thanks for all of this.More infinite thanks, as always, to Taes Leavitt (darling big sister, Big Heart Journey), Sherwin Tjia (technical and creative advisor, Sherwin’s Quirky Events, Episode 22) and my dearly departed aunt Eileen Gun, whose generous gift helped to fund my new podcast equipment. And infinite thanks to you, my dear listeners! Stay tuned for ...
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    Less than 1 minute
  • Hot Dates and Frenching With Lou Laurence

    Hot Dates and Frenching With Lou Laurence
    May 21 2024
    Lou Laurence is a singer, songwriter, playwright, and siren. She left her home at the bottom of the ocean to become part of that world, our world, Montréal and across Canada, where she takes to the stage with her ukulele, spectacular hair and fashion sense. There she combines her musical and lyrical genius, bringing us clever and hilarious songs in her signature soulful voice. Her performances unite music, sketch comedy, and stand-up. In 2024, she produced the live game show Montreal’s Most Delicious Date, and her 60-minute solo show, Love, Sharks & Frenching: a hot date w/ Lou Laurence won Best Solo Show, Best Music Show, and was runner up for Best Show with Improv at Victoria Fringe Festival 2023. It’s a one-of-a-kind date with Lou Laurence that will have you frenching like a Montrealer. And you can see it, imminently at the 2024 Montreal Fringe Fest at Petit Campus June 7-16. We can’t wait! Don’t miss Lou’s show and don’t miss this episode!Lou Laurence’s LinksFollow Lou on Instagram @loulaurencemusic or else here on Facebook.Get yourself a ticket to Love, Sharks & Frenching: a hot date w/ Lou Laurence this June at the Montreal Fringe.Mixing, Ukulele, and Cover Art by Erica J. Schmidt in Montréal, Quebec.If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy Chill Creative Flow With Jeff Gandell, Why We’re Still Single With Mariam Khan or Stealing the Last Laugh With Francesca Esguerra.Follow Erica on Facebook or Instagram or check out her website at ericajschmidt.com. You can also make her day by sending her a listener question to any of these places.Episode Notes: Singer, Songwriter, Playwright and Siren Lou Laurence on This Is Your Strange and Beautiful LifeDiscover how Lou got that dreamy voice. It turns out, she’s been singing her whole life. Though she longed to accompany her original songs with an instrument, learning a guitar felt overwhelming. “It has six strings and I only have four fingers.” A valid point. But Lou transcended this obstacle when she picked up the joy of life that is the ukulele. Serenading everyone in Parc Lafontaine, she mastered all the chords from House of the Rising Sun, and then some. Now she has her own custom-made acoustic-guitar-turned-baritone ukulele and it’s official—they’re in love! Lou shares some refreshing tips on creativity and how writing out loud comes out better than typing stuff out at a computer. But definitely carry a fancy notebook wherever you go! I was struck by Lou’s free and fluid creation process which sometimes involves singing off-the-cuff improv lyrics onstage. “You just have to trust that it’s in you,” she says. Gosh, if we could all have that trust. Lou also has an aspirational perspective on the small nonsense and surprising challenges of modern dating. Sounds like she’s killing it out there! And what a gift to be able to transform your mishaps in love into a spectacular Fringe Show. For our Listener Question, Lou and Erica console the lovely and earnest, Did I Fail the Kiss Test? And we wrap up with Lou’s morning, creative, and cleaning routines, plus a charming and terrifying improv ukulele segment during which Erica becomes very sweaty and Lou basically rewrites the podcast theme song. Thank you, Lou Laurence, what a blast!Listener Question From Did I Fail the Kiss Test? Dear Erica and Lou,I’m a 37-year-old woman and I’ve been out of the game for a while. Then I met this super hot dude at a show and we just went on a second date. All in all it went well. Except he kissed me towards the end and I was super awkward. I am so out of practice and he is so fucking cute and I did not think he would kiss me so I went into full-on dorky mode. He did everything right on his part. He sent the right signals and built up to it. But I feel like I missed my chance for a sexy and passionate beginning. Is it possible to recover from an awkward first kiss?Love, Did I Fail the Kiss Test? Thank you so much for listening! To support this independent podcast, please consider purchasing a Lil and Bud dog greeting card at ericajschmidt.com/merch. You can also make a one-time donation here at The Donate Button. Feel free to get in touch for other sponsorship possibilities. My infinite thanks for all of this.More infinite thanks, as always, to Taes Leavitt (darling big sister, Big Heart Journey), Sherwin Tjia (technical and creative advisor, Sherwin’s Quirky Events, Episode 22) and my dearly departed aunt Eileen Gun, whose generous gift helped to fund my new podcast equipment. And infinite thanks to you, my dear listeners! Stay tuned for more episodes extra soon. Don’t forget to follow This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life on your favourite podcast platform. And if you enjoyed the episode, I would be immensely grateful if you could share it with a friend and/or leave a kind and enthusiastic rating and review.
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    1 hr and 24 mins