Voice Seeker

This episode of Voice Seeker features prominent musician, curator, and thinker Calvin Arsenia from Kansas City. We discuss at length a host of topics that spans musical origins, community, critiques of AI, the development of Greenwood Social Hall, creativity, intersectionality, religion, sympathetic magic, and beyond.You can find more from Calvin and listen to or purchase the entirety of his masterful album, "Paradise", at his website (https://calvinarsenia.com/).~DandyChapters00:00 Intro03:55 Wedding music05:55 Calvin's musical origin story10:01 Community singing, primal resonance, and sympathetic magic12:10 The importance of time and space for artistic development13:58 Multi-instrumentalism15:48 The value of humility and authenticity16:15 Cultural heritage, folk magic, and the preservation of tradition18:00 Folk traditions as ancient power and magic21:49 Deconstructing religion26:01 LGBTQ+ perspectives and Religious Conflict27:55 The Intersection of Politics, Religion, and Society28:06 Greenwood Social Hall30:10 The role of music in community and healing32:24 The intersection of faith, culture, and personal identity34:04 AI, Authenticity, and Creativity36:03 The future of independent music and community support37:58 Embracing personal power40:29 Closing thoughts and advice for creative seekers

The Summer Solstice 2026 episode of Voice Seeker features my friend and former house mate from Portugal, Alice Mantas. Alice is a multi-disciplinary artist focusing on playing modal music with the cello, and conducting materials research with ceramics. She is also a face painter and sometimes clown. ~Dandy 00:00:00 - Introducing Alice Mantas via Portugal 00:01:52 - Our first meeting at a squat in Lisbon 00:11:16 - How freedom zones can ruin freedom 00:15:17 - Rhythms of Resistance, organized anarchy with percussion 00:20:34 - ETHNO, a global cohort of folk artists sharing their craft 00:25:10 - Our second meeting in a squat in Chania, Crete 00:32:04 - The power of the clown 00:38:08 - A dumpster diving band 00:40:57 - Poverty of time vs poverty of money 00:47:11 - Being a multi-disciplinary artist 00:48:41 - Ceramics 00:56:51 - Using Pure Data (Pd) an open source graphical media software toolkit 01:00:23 - A chat about practice 01:03:58 - Modal (makam) music 01:09:13 - Grant writing and cello travel 01:11:55 - Cultural evolution: Asian via North African influence on Portuguese music 01:17:03 - Culture as a mutable identity marker 01:20:49 - Travel 01:26:11 - Soclal media vs IRL 01:33:42 - Final thoughts

I first met Zaid at a Rainbow Gathering in Morocco, playing guitar songs around a campfire. A few years later our paths crossed again at another gathering in Turkiye. We ended up having some adventures after that and I am proud to call him my friend.00:00:00 - Intruducing Zaid00:03:15 - Meeting in a Morocco Rainbow Gathering00:05:30 - Musical confidence00:09:19 - After Moroccan Rainbow00:11:26 - What was it like growing up in Morocco?00:16:54 - Meeting a Polish wife00:20:02 - Paradise for the rich, hell for the poor00:25:58 - Colonization from Europe00:29:58 - Things missed about Morocco00:32:34 - Experiences in Poland00:38:22 - Our second meeting in Turkish Rainbow and on to the Mad House00:47:41 - Musical history00:53:54 - Learning music from friends01:01:32 - Making frame drums01:06:55 - Connecting artists across the world01:11:53 - Musical collaborations01:18:25 - Big dreams01:21:07 - Final thoughts and philosophies

I met Mikael Gunter at a communal camp in Albania during the global lockdown. We bonded over music, tesseracts, and the quest for freedom. Here is our conversation.00:00:00 - Introductions, our meeting in Albania00:04:07 - Alone on Winter Solstice00:07:00 - Staying in Albanian bunkers00:13:10 - Balkan conquests, appearances vs reality of living in a country00:20:16 - Returning to Australia after 10 years00:23:02 - Termites = didgeridoos00:28:46 - Herniated disc00:30:54 - Healthcare and employment in Australia00:35:16 - Cultural cringe00:40:35 - Some technical difficulties and a brief history of this podcast00:43:20 - Extended travel: how to live abroad indefinitely without employment00:48:43 - Technology addiction00:52:24 - Multidimensionality00:55:18 - Psychonaut explorations01:04:36 - Food quality in USA vs Europe01:10:01 - Mikael's current situation "in the bush"01:11:35 - Busking at home vs abroad01:13:10 - Our shared busking experience in Skopje01:16:21 - Balkan issues01:21:50 - Belief vs knowledge of presented information01:27:40 - Observing the cosmos01:45:57 - Placebo, belief, power of consciousness01:55:17 - What's next? Final thoughts

Metka Knap is a folklorist, musician, and visual artist from Slovenia. We met in 2022 in Macedonia and took a bardic journey to Prague and beyond.Unfortunately, the conversation takes place over a Zoom chat with Metka being in a remote cabin in Slovenia, so the fidelity of the connection is at times spotty. Hopefully you will still be able to glean some interesting insights from our conversation.https://www.instagram.com/vrabovka/https://www.instagram.com/tjulnica/https://www.instagram.com/izpodkorenin/https://www.instagram.com/gruntuntun/00:00:00 - Introduction, urban vs rural for artists00:09:44 - Does the USA have more opportunities for artists?00:16:04 - Metka's musical journey00:22:18 - Floating Castle Festival00:26:25 - How did we meet?00:29:24 - Dandy's banjo00:31:43 - More instruments00:35:54 - At the meditation center in Serbia00:38:38 - Recording "More Izgrejala"00:41:28 - Onward toward Prague00:44:39 - Our concert in Ljubljana00:48:05 - Balkan rainbow in Serbia00:53:31 - Future plans00:58:39 - Visual art, a safe place for creativity01:02:31 - The other band, Grunt01:05:32 - Final messages

For this Summer Solstice episode of Voice Seeker, I am pleased to welcome my good friend and traveling companion, Saša Hajzler. She is an avid conversationalist, traveler, thinker, and phd student. In this conversation we recollect some moments from our hitchhiking travels through Morocco. We also talk about Yugoslavia, private equity enshittification, the fool's journey, and more.Enjoy!~Dandelion00:00:00 - Introduction via Skopje00:02:49 - Meeting in Morocco00:04:54 - The allure of Fez00:08:06 - A Moroccan encounter in Istanbul00:11:28 - From Turkiye to Morocco00:13:29 - Arriving via ferryboat to Tangier00:17:15 - the origin of Sasha's miraculous quest00:27:32 - From Tangier to Merzouga00:37:11 - Moroccan Rainbow Gathering00:39:46 - So many dudes00:42:06 - Back to Casablanca00:43:45 - Yugostalgia00:50:16 - Private equity enshittification00:54:03 - Things made to last, or at least deteriorate slowly00:57:40 - Growing up at the end of Yugoslavia01:05:45 - Class solidarity with Moroccans and beyond01:12:04 - Back to the hitchhiking adventure01:17:49 - Food memories01:25:02 - Communication without language01:28:29 - A shepherd dog in a field at night01:34:01 - Hitchhiking a fairy boat01:38:28 - The instructional act of being a fool01:48:54 - Wrap up

On the 10th episode of Voice Seeker, we have a wide-ranging discussion with Elexa Dawson: musician, songwriter, speaker, mother, gardener, Potawatomi Citizen, and all around awesome human being.Elexa Dawson is a practitioner of the soul. Her red-dirt honey vocals and rhythmic guitar style deliver a sound that hits home. Both familiar and intriguing, her songs speak of the earth and community, and celebrate all relationships, from mother and child to friend and lover.Kansas-based and Oklahoma-born, Elexa is a songwriter, educator, community organizer, Folk Alliance Region Midwest's Board President, and serves on the Board of Directors of Music to Life. Elexa is a Kansas Touring Roster Artist, Music to Life's Juried Artist, and Mid-America Arts Alliance Interchange Fellow. Former fellowships include First Peoples Fund and Western Arts Alliance Native Launchpad.Elexa is the founder and director of Good Way Gardens, a land-based arts organization, and is co-founder of Weda Skirts, one of Kansas' best-beloved female folk ensembles. She runs an independent label, Turns Out Records. She’s also a founding member of popular folk groups The Power Lilies and Heyleon.https://www.elexadawson.com/https://www.patreon.com/elexadawsonNative Heritage and Place in the Flint Hills presentation:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJPFaBuC73c(00:00:00) - INTRODUCTION(00:04:10) - PRACTITIONER OF THE SOUL(00:08:19) - SINGING TOGETHER(00:10:47) - MUSICAL BACKGROUND(00:15:14) - WINFIELD(00:17:42) - THE CITIZEN POTAWATOMI NATION(00:26:30) - INDIGENOUS EARTH(00:32:40) - INSPIRATION, APPROPRIATION, FETISHIZATION(00:42:22) - SHAPED BY NATIVE HERITAGE(00:42:44) - INDIGENOUS FOODS MOVEMENT(00:47:10) - FOOD SOVEREIGNTY(00:52:11) - A WORLD OF ABUNDANCE(00:57:38) - ABANDONING THE PATRIARCHY(01:02:58) - IF EVERYONE'S A MILLIONAIRE, WHO'S SPECIAL?(01:05:24) - WOMEN'S HOMES(01:09:24) - EDUCATION(01:18:35) - POTAWATOMI LANGUAGE(01:21:07) - MUSICAL MEMORY(01:22:58) - GOODWAY GARDEN AND MORE(01:26:10) - PETER OVIATT, STANLEY HOTEL(01:31:30) - ARTIST RECOMMENDATIONS(01:33:44) - WORDS OF ADVICE FOR YOUNGER CREATIVES

An informal discussion with some members of the Shining Heart Sufi Community in Kansas City. Topics include: Dances of Universal Peace, Sufism, Turkiye, Konya, Alevi music, and more. https://www.shiningheartcommunity.org/ 00:00:00 Invocation 00:00:25 Solstice time 00:02:26 Introductions 00:05:54 Kurbanlar Tiğlanıp 00:12:42 Dandy's encounter with the Sufis 00:27:24 Some other Sufi stories 00:50:22 Joel Kraft's song 00:53:22 Thy Light Is In All Forms 00:59:38 Karşidan Görunen Hey Dost 01:06:40 Dandy's pilgrimage to Konya 01:17:40 Marty's Sufi story 01:22:00 Closing the circle 01:24:00 Outward

Welcome to Voice Seeker, I’m your host, Dandelion Lakewood. In this episode, I sat down with songwriter, composer, and performer Gracie Caggiano. We cover a broad spectrum of topics including perfectionism, suffering, joy, death, poetry, perspective, and life as an artist with a disability. You will have an opportunity to hear some of Gracies original compositions throughout the episode. The recording quality fits the conversation about imperfection, it’s a bit noisy, you can hear the echo of the room and Gracie’s upstairs neighbors stomping around sometimes. Listening through the foggy lens of those flaws, you will hopefully discover some gems in our conversation. (00:00:00) Psalm of Recognition (00:01:03) Introduction (00:01:48) Beginnings, journals as a living document (00:08:40) Sad girl starter pack (00:10:01) Omniscient algorithms (00:10:35) Adrienne Lenker and the value of imperfect aesthetics (00:17:40) The elusive "perfect version" (00:26:50) After I die, what's going to happen to my music? (00:30:45) The value of creative work (00:34:48) How to market authenticity (00:41:11) How many artists actually live off of their creative work? (00:47:00) The making of an album (00:58:30) The element of surprise (01:01:50) Musical influences (01:06:35) Listening to music as a musician (01:15:46) Themes of decay and disability (01:15:05) Presence in grief (01:26:19) The poems of Mary Oliver (01: 28:18) Emily Dickenson (01:29:20) The inevitability of death (01:34:28) The Book of Delights (01:38:07) Positivity vs reality and the role of art in discourse (01:44:17) War, murder, and death (01:52:21) Intersectionality and artistic performance (02:01:33) Conceptual space making and community (02:08:23) Words to a future fan (02:09:21) Rilke's Book of a Monastic Life

A bardic quest mixtape featuring the various performers who assembled at the 2024 Folk Alliance International conference in Kansas City. (00:00:00) Intro(00:03:00) 1st night: arriving at FAI(00:06:38) Westin Lobby(00:07:37) Bose Lounge open mic(00:08:16) Scott Strickland(00:13:27) Ellie James(00:17:18) Eddy DJ E(00:20:18) Rachel Sage(00:24:50) Bandits on the Run(00:28:46) Kristin Rebecca(00:32:38) Dandelion Lakewood(00:36:57) Joey Forever(00:41:27) Christina Eltrevoog(00:47:39) 2nd night: bardic quest(00:49:03) Bards at the gate (with Cowboy Aiden)(00:57:16) The Foggy Memory Boys(01:03:08) Darbuka in the hallway with Robert(01:08:57) Paula Boggs Band(01:13:04) True Lions(01:16:31) Laura Taubman(01:19:54) Ethno Room 1st jam(01:23:33) Late night lobby bluegrass(01:36:53) 4am diary(01:38:43) 3rd night: Lobby clogging with Sophie Mae Wellington(01:43:53) Laytha(01:48:59) Ingrid Yasmin(01:52:10) Kelly Love Jones(01:56:46) Echo chamber interview with Billy Two Rivers(02:04:42) Ila Barker(02:10:25) Elevator check ins(02:13:52) Pow wow dancers(02:16:07) Chatting with Mitsune(02:19:54) Slava(02:28:34) 2nd Ethno Room jam(02:30:49) Epic late night lobby jam(02:33:38) Nani(02:38:24) Ensemble Sangineto(02:40:30) Mitsune(02:44:30) Clement Brothers(02:49:16) Sneaki Bandit interview(02:57:42) World of Plenty(03:01:08) Final Jam in the Ethno room highlights(03:13:45) Universal Lover(03:23:22) Midnight Special(03:28:42) Elexa Dawson's love letter(03:36:10) Brief chat with Nimkii(03:38:00) Interviewing Win(03:44:00) Petit Solo and Klara Ahlersten(03:47:54) Ashley Virginia(03:52:28) End notes