Arts and Craft

Hi everybody, just a heads up that we’re going to be taking a summer hiatus but we'll be back.  So catch up on any items you might've missed and the meantime please make sure to share us with everyone you know. Have a great summer and we'll see you in the fall!Send us Fan Mail------------------------Produced and Edited by Arts and Craft.Theme Music: Sound Gallery by Dmitry Taras.

AnnMarie Milazzo is a Tony, Grammy, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award-nominated vocal designer. She’s also a vocalist, lyricist, and composer who’s worked on Broadway and internationally. On this episode, AnnMarie gets vocal about vocal design and her writing and editing process while preparing for the June opening of her newest Broadway musical, “JOY: A New True Musical.”---------------------Lucky Us (co-music & lyrics with David Foster), A Walk On The Moon, The Snow Guardian, Pretty Dead Girl, (winner of the Special Jury Award Sundance Film Festival) and Joy. As Vocal Designer: Spring Awakening, Next to Normal, If/Then, Finding Neverland, revival of Carrie, Bright Lights Big City, Superhero, Dangerous Beauty, Prometheus Bound, Some Lovers, Dave, A Walk On The Moon, revival of 1776, Almost Famous, A Beautiful Noise. As Co-Orchestrator of Once On This Island, AnnMarie was nominated for a Tony, Grammy, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award. She is the Grammy-nominated female vocalist for East Village Opera Company.Send us Fan Mail------------------------Produced and Edited by Arts and Craft.Theme Music: Sound Gallery by Dmitry Taras.

Debbie Taylor-Kerman is a contemporary mixed media artist and painter who put aside her successful commercial design career to focus on creating abstract figurative art that empowers diversity and humanity. Her engaging art is now in private collections throughout the United States and around the world. On this episode we explore the world of licensing graphic art, transitioning from corporate to personal art, and following your voice.  www.debbietaylorkerman.com--------------------Debbie Taylor-Kerman is a Scottish artist who came to New York City to work as a textile designer in 1991. She fell in love with the city and her husband Elliott, and they moved to Harlem where they raised their two sons and still reside. She studied her Foundation Course at St Martins School of Art in London, received her BA in Printed Textiles from Liverpool School of art and pursued further fine art studies with the Creative Visionary Program for 4 consecutive years, led by artist Nicholas Wilton. During the pandemic, Debbie finally decided to paint fine art full time, and left her successful commercial art career of more than three decades. Since then Debbie has exhibited primarily in the New York area and she is represented by Globe Fine Art in Santa Fe, NM and Dean Street Fine Art in Tampa. Her work can be found in private collections throughout the United States and around the world. Artist Statement I need to find hope in this fragile and divided world by creating the beauty of diversity. I believe it's critical for everyone to feel seen and to feel hope that we can coexist in peace. I create abstract figurative art by using a multitude of tools to build a substantial history of abstract paint and collage, from where my figures can emerge. While adjusting the measure of abstract versus figurative, I'm constantly asking myself the question, what needs to be said and what needs to be left unsaid. I don't want to tell the whole story. Creating a dynamic composition for initial impact is key to capturing viewers’ attention, by first making them stop and look, then enticing them to stay and discover the subtlety within the paintings. Just like life, there is more to us than what initially meets the eye. My art conveys how our diversity is what makes us beautiful, that we are all connected regardless of our differences, and that we need to spend time discovering the “whole picture”. Send us Fan Mail------------------------Produced and Edited by Arts and Craft.Theme Music: Sound Gallery by Dmitry Taras.

Rachael Sage is a prolific songwriter, singer, visual artist, and ballet dancer and the founder of Mpress records. She has toured nationally and internationally and has shepherded a wide array of diverse artists in the music-sphere.  On this episode we chat about the value of maintaining relationships for booking gigs, nurturing artists while running a record label, and the fine line between music and visual art.--------------------Rachael Sage is a soulful vocalist, innovative multi-instrumentalist and award-winning singer/songwriter and producer from NY who has earned a loyal international following for her dynamic piano playing, delicate guitar work, and improvisational audience interaction. A six-time Independent Music Award winner, Sage has toured with an eclectic list of artists including Howard Jones, Beth Hart, Ani DiFranco, and Grammy® winners Shawn Colvin and Judy Collins – with whom she also recorded a critically-acclaimed duet of Neil Young's "Helpless". Her music has been dubbed "witty, graceful, and powerfully intimate" by NPR Music, and American Songwriter described Sage as "one of the most compelling and creative singers and songwriters of the modern era". Her new album Canopy is due Fall 2025 on MPress/Universal/Virgin. For more information, visit rachaelsage.com.Send us Fan Mail------------------------Produced and Edited by Arts and Craft.Theme Music: Sound Gallery by Dmitry Taras.

Dean Taucher is a film and television production designer, art director, and playwright. He is behind some of television’s most iconic shows and spilling the beans in his new play, “Reel Stories.” On this episode we peek behind the curtain and talk set design, “Miami Vice,” and working with directors like Michael Mann.--------------------Dean Taucher is a production designer/set designer, originally from the Chicago area. He attended The Goodman School of Drama - Art Institute of Chicago and immediately began designing in the Off-Loop theater scene of the 1970’s. These theaters included Body Politic, St. Nicholas, the Organic Theater Company, the Goodman and Victory Gardens.He moved to New York in 1979 and thanks to his membership in the United Scenic Artist Local 829 he worked on many Broadway shows including 42nd Street, Evita, Cats and at NBC on Season 5 of Saturday Night Live. His design work continued in regional dance and opera at The Penn Opera Theater, Atlanta Ballet and the Hubbard Street Dance Company.His work as a scenic Artist let him to working on feature films where he was able to move into positions in the Art Department. From his initial job as charge scenic on Michael Mann’s film “Manhunter” he became an assistant art director and the following year he was hired by Mr. Mann as the production designer (credited as visual consultant) on Season 3 of Miami Vice, with Dick Wolf as the head writer.Dean then made the TV movie “ L.A. Takedown” with Mann. He returned to New York to work with Dick Wolf for the CBS series, Harlem Eastside Lifesaving Project, H.E.L.P., and subsequently three season at FOX for New York Undercover and over 20 seasons of Law & Order, SVU at NBC. For David Chase at HBO, Dean designed Season One of The Sopranos and episodes two through thirteen, including many of the iconic permanent sets, the logo of the Bada Bing and the logo for the show.Off-Broadway he designed the plays Tabletop, Snakebit and River Deep: A Tribute to Tina Turner. He has worked with the director/choreographer Gabrielle Lansner on all her live and filmed projects for the last 25 years as designer and on her film projects as Executive Producer. Their current film, I AM NOT OK, is part of The Brooklyn Museum’s 200th Anniversary Show, The Brooklyn Artists Exhibition.Dean’s play “REEL STORIES-MADE IN NEW YORK” is a riotous exposé of the inner workings of film and TV, informed by the myopic, egocentric and clueless motivations of the people who work in front and behind the camera. Nothing may be true, but they are all “REEL STORIES- MADE IN NEW YORK.” It is Dean’s first play.Send us Fan Mail------------------------Produced and Edited by Arts and Craft.Theme Music: Sound Gallery by Dmitry Taras.

Jason Kravits is an actor, singer, improvisor, and viral video creator who's worked regularly in film, television, and on Broadway.His voice can currently be heard as Sneezy in Disney’s live-action hit, "Snow White." On this episode we get into Jason’s audition process and sniffling varieties, his adoration of vaudeville, and how changes in technology have affected viewership.--------------------Jason has been fortunate enough to appear on stages and screens, large and small, for over 35 years. Recent TV credits include Only Murders in the Building (as Melissa McCarthy’s husband, “Big Mike”) Halston, The Undoing, Dr. Death and Young Sheldon. Other favorite appearances include Curb Your Enthusiasm, 30 Rock, Kimmy Schmidt, Gilmore Girls, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Practice and the final episode of Friends. His voice can be heard as “Sneezy” in the current live-action remake of Disney’s Snow White. On Broadway, Jason has appeared in The Drowsy Chaperone, Sly Fox and Relatively Speaking. Off-Broadway, Jason appeared in the New Group’s adapation of the Philip Roth novel Sabbath’s Theater (alongside John Turturro and Elizabeth Marvel). For the last 10 years, Jason has been performing his solo, completely improvised cabaret, OFF THE TOP (winner of a 2017 Bistro Award) - playing to sold out crowds in London, Adelaide, Melbourne, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles - and can be seen regularly in New York City at venues like Joe's Pub and Birdland. Jason is a native of the D.C. area, where he performed extensively at the Shakespeare Theatre, Round House Theatre and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Co. He is a member of the Actors Center Workshop Company.Tickets to July 2025 show @ Joe's Pub: https://bit.ly/OffTheTopJuly10Send us Fan Mail------------------------Produced and Edited by Arts and Craft.Theme Music: Sound Gallery by Dmitry Taras.

Celia Chavez is a singer, songwriter, session vocalist, educator, and coach. She’s played global arenas and intimate music clubs - duetting and harmonizing with Pink, Enrique Iglesias, Julia Fordham, and many more. On this tuneful episode, Celia shares the secrets of how to blend, harmonize, and adapt to different voices and concert styles, and how to stay fit while on an arena tour. We also get an introduction to her musical alter ego, Babilonia. --------------------Celia Chavez enjoys a multifaceted career as performing songwriter, touring singer, session vocalist, educator and coach. With her wistful lyricism balanced with a unique clarity of vocal delivery, Celia creates an ongoing love letter to the world as comfort in times of uncertainty, compassion in times of division, and catharsis for a world under pressure. Her songs express different ways to hang on to love and faith despite seemingly hopeless odds. Her music displays a gracefully tenacious, yet playful sensibility  — so beautifully reflected in the story arc of Celia's life.Spreading her wings to step outside the gilded cage of her life as a globetrotting backup singer, she assumed a new moniker, Babilonia, to release her new EP, If I Ever Think To Double Back. Braiding together strands of music she's lived and loved -- from her parents’ jazz/soul records in her hometown of Seattle, to New York City’s vibrant Lower East Side and Brooklyn, to the songcraft capital of LA's Laurel Canyon -- Chavez takes her place at the front of her own formidable studio band as a compelling singer-songwriter. Click here for more.Send us Fan Mail------------------------Produced and Edited by Arts and Craft.Theme Music: Sound Gallery by Dmitry Taras.

Amy Ziff is the acerbic wit behind the award-winning Indie Rock trio, Betty. She is also a singer, songwriter, cellist, activist, and mom. On today’s episode, this multi-talented artist chats about song placements, the art of collaboration, electronic cellos - and of course, how to navigate these times as an artist.--------------------In addition to being a pop icon and touring the world with the band BETTY, Amy has appeared in movies and TV, including Showtime's The L-Word, and originating the roles of "Mom and "Ida" on the ABC series Edith Ann. Amy has also written and performed her one-woman shows, Superlatives and Accident in several festivals and theaters across the U.S. and Canada. She has also co-written an opera about Typhoid Mary, called A Danger to Us All.Be sure to grab a ticket for BETTY’s latest concert series and tour! Hellobetty.comSend us Fan Mail------------------------Produced and Edited by Arts and Craft.Theme Music: Sound Gallery by Dmitry Taras.

Jen Munson is an audio mastering whiz and engineer with a sharp ear for sound. She’s a jazz vocalist and also a technical director for WNYC’s “On the Media.” On this episode you’ll hear about sound frequencies, how to make voices distinct, and a bit wood chopping thrown into “the mix”! WNYC--------------------Jennifer Munson is the technical director for On the Media and a Mastering Engineer at Taloowa.Jen has engineered some of the greatest musical talents in history. Isaac Stern, for instance. Also Prince, Judy Garland, Jessye Norman, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Glenn Gould, Busta Rhymes, Lou Reed and Kathleen Battle.And also Brooke and Micah."They're very much like Springsteen," she says, "only without backup vocals."In addition to WNYC, Jen has worked for Sony Classical, Gateway Mastering and ABC News. Her first love, however, is singing. Trained at Indiana University, she is an accomplished jazz vocalist and composer of such tender love songs as "Lucy."Lucy was her dog.When not  recording, mixing and mastering "On the Media,"  or other acts, Jen is most likely found in her garden.Send us Fan Mail------------------------Produced and Edited by Arts and Craft.Theme Music: Sound Gallery by Dmitry Taras.

Carole Montgomery is a stand-up comedian, producer, and director who has headlined clubs & colleges across the USA. She is also the creator of the series “Funny Women of a Certain Age” on Showtime and live in clubs. On this episode, we get a backstage glimpse into the world of working in Vegas, outrageous comedy gigs, and Broadway child wrangling. www.carolemontgomery.com--------------------With over 2 dozen television credits to her name, CAROLE MONTGOMERY is a respected veteran of the standup comedy scene nationwide. In addition to her numerous television appearances, Carole has headlined clubs & colleges across the USA and starred in 2 different Las Vegas production shows. In her ten years as a LAS VEGAS STAR, it is estimated that she has been seen by over 5 million audience members.Carole created the live stand up comedy show FUNNY WOMEN OF A CERTAIN AGE featuring female headliners over the age of 50 in 2017. The show was such a success that it was filmed for the Showtime network. It was the network’s highest rated comedy special for 2019 and it made TV history as the first comedy special to feature 6 women over the age of 50. The following year MORE Funny Women Of A Certain Age premiered with huge viewership. EVEN MORE Funny Women Of A Certain Age premiered Thanksgiving Eve 2021.Carole is also an accomplished director & producer. She directed Jim Florentine’s solo show I’m Your Savior currently airing on Amazon Prime. She is currently developing a new solo show with activist and comedian Kaytlin Bailey called Whore’s Eye View.Carole is proudest of her 11 comedy tours for Armed Forces Entertainment. Her NY Underground Comedy Allstars have performed in Iraq, Haiti, Kosovo, Holland, Kuwait, Diego Garcia, Singapore, Honduras, El Salvador, South Korea and Germany to rave reviews.Carole was also a featured performer at the MONTREAL JUST FOR LAUGHS, BOSTON & NY COMEDY FESTIVALS.www.carolemontgomery.comwww.funnywomenofacertainage.comwww.funnynevergetsold.comSend us Fan Mail------------------------Produced and Edited by Arts and Craft.Theme Music: Sound Gallery by Dmitry Taras.