I am a radio host now. I started my own show, back in October 2015, at the invitation of my friends over at Lumpen Radio, a brand new wavelength soon to be actually broadcasting out of an actual radio tower in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago. If you're in the area, tattoo WLPN 105.5 FM onto the back of your mind's eyelid please.
Magic Chats is a weekly interview show. I invite a different guest every episode to bring in some sounds that move them. We listen to the sounds (usually music; sometimes film clips, field recordings, text, etc) together, and then talk about it. I ask my guests what the sound means to them, how it makes them feel, where and when they heard it, and ultimately, what place that magical feeling has in their life. We often end up talking about spirituality, but not necessarily.
Every show begins with a Magic Moment. Listeners write in to magic.chats [at] gmail.com with a song that moves them and a written description of how or why. I play the song and read their story. Do you have a Magic Moment you'd like to share? Please send it to me! I need more!
Every show ends with the Mystery of the Week. This is one big, open-ended question inspired by the preceding interview. I collect responses to the MOTW on Facebook and via email, and read them back at the end of the following episode, before announcing the new question. You can find out and reply to the Mystery of the Week on the Magic Chats Facebook page. Please 'like' the page!
You can subscribe to Magic Chats on iTunes. Please rate and review! I have no idea how many people enjoy this labor of love (yet).
My plan is to record and release ten episodes per season. At the time I write this, seven episodes are complete and available, and four more interviews are waiting to be edited.
I started Magic Chats as one strategy in a broader effort to be more open about my own magical nature. The unseen has always been a huge part of my life, the way I relate to the world, and what I look for in others. The last Brain Frame marked the first moment I began to consciously incorporate ritual into my public performances. Magic Chats is a way for me to explore how a wide variety of individuals understand the inexplicable. It has been deeply fascinating and rewarding to conduct these interviews, edit and annotate them afterwards, and release them to be heard.
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Elsewhere: I wrote about my five favorite internet videos as the February guest curator at Video Video Zine. I'll be presenting them live on Sunday, February 21st at 8pm, at Giron Books, (upstairs) 2141 W 21st St. More info and full screening details can be found on the Facebook event. FREE!
