Fascination Street

Chef George Blackwell Smith IVTake a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Chef George Blackwell Smith IV. In this episode, we chat about what led him to fall in love with cooking, and the taste of Louisiana specifically. Chef Blackwell Smith explains how he went from growing up in California, moving to Chattanooga, then to Louisiana, and why he went back to Tennessee. Then we discuss his company The Lucky Cajun This is a premium spice and seasoning blend company that prides itself on the freshest blends. I get the chef to explain to me what makes his spices and seasonings better than what you grab off of the supermarket shelf. We do trade restaurant horror stories before we get into the specifics of each of his product line offerings. The Lucky Cajun offers a hot sauce called The Green Boss, as well as several unique blends. Blackbeard's Smoke, Jerk, Cajun, and the Original. Chef Blackwell Smith explains his philosophy of 'the anatomy of the bite', and an ever-expanding selection of easy-to-read cookbooks. He teases some of the upcoming new products, and we even touch on some of the skills that make spending time in the kitchen a ton of fun. Make sure you check out what the chef has to offer over at TheLuckyCajun.com and follow him on social media.

Imaad WasifTake a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Imaad Wasif. Imaad is a musician, singer, and songwriter from the California Desert. In this episode, we chat about how his family wound up living in the desert, and what it was like growing up as 'The Weird Indian Kid' in that fairly tightknit community. We do discuss his parents and their influences on his musicality as well as his overall worldview. While his family comes from India, his parents thought it might be a good idea to make a hasty retreat from their home country due to one of his folks being Muslim, while the other is Hindu. After a stint in Canda, then London, the family moved to Palm Desert. Imaad's influences know no bounds. Though his father was a Ghazal singer, the family spoke no Urdu at home, and Imaad grew up attending 'generator parties' in the desolate lands that are now famous for Coachella! Imaad generously lets me play my favorite song from his very first solo album from twenty years ago. The we do a deep dive into 'The Devine', the 'Super Consciousness', and what it means to have an 'awareness of self'. Naturally I ask how he came to be basically the fourth member of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs; with whom he has play for twenty years as well. Finally, we dig into Imaad's newest record. This is his SEVENTH solo album, and it is called 'Superconsciousness', and it was released in mid-March of this year. All of the songs are avail in all of the usual places, but YOU SHOULD PURCHASE the new album on Bandcamp. He is eve selling it on vinyl and includes several demo versions of some of the tracks. Speaking of which, Imaad is such a rad gut, that he lets me play my favorite track from the new record. The making of this record was severely hampered by the catastrophic wildfires in Altadena, California. Imaad lost some stuff but was very lucky overall, thank goodness. Follow Imaad Wasif on Instagram to see where he will be playing live next!***LIVE AT PERMANENT RECORDS IN LOS ANGELES JULY 3RD***

Taylor ShoreTake a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Taylor Shore. In this episode, we chat about his growing up in Tunisia, and some of the musical artists that inspired him to follow his dreams. Next, we talk about why he left Tunisia, and the reasons he moved 1900 kilometers away. We do discuss some of the biggest names in music history, and the impact that these artists continue to have on Taylor and his music. We have a short conversation about why he speaks so many languages, and what he went to university for. Then we discuss all things Taylor. His 'Rock & Roll Academy' in Dusseldorf, his solo music career, and being the lead singer for the band Lastry. Taylor shares some surprising (to me) information about Spotify and explains why Lastry's music is not available on that platform. Being the kind and generous soul that he is, Taylor lets me play my favorite song, called We are Unicorns, from his solo project; and he also lets me play my favorite Lastry song, Space & Time. Finally, we end on a discussion about Jack Daniels, rock & roll, metal, progressive rock, and Taylor's upcoming new release schedule. I really enjoyed hanging with Taylor, and I hope we can do it again some time!