DreamPath Podcast

For over 30 years, award-winning composer BJ Leiderman has enjoyed a multifaceted career as a composer, lyricist, producer, copywriter and voice talent. He is best known as the composer of the themes for Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, Car Talk, The People’s Pharmacy, Common Ground, A Moment In Time with Dan Roberts and Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me! on National Public Radio and Science Friday and Marketplace on Public Radio International.

As Creative Director of BJ Leiderman Music, Leiderman has scored numerous TV and radio commercials and corporate promotional videos for clients including Coca-Cola, ExxonMobil, US Air, Corporation For Public Broadcasting, US Environmental Protection Agency, US Chamber of Commerce, General Mills and General Electric. His TV credits include Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, The Annenberg/CPB Project and Christian Broadcasting Network.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• BJ and Bryan conduct their interview walking through nature near BJ’s home in Asheville, North Carolina
• BJ teaches Bryan how to do a meditative walk in nature, with deliberate walking and careful breathing techniques
• How BJ contracted Lyme Disease right before traveling to Israel in the 1990s, and how that left him with neurological difficulties that affect his cognitive function
• How BJ's neurological problems have made it virtually impossible for him to learn new songs, and how he has learned to work around the challenge
• How BJ's 2017 album, BJ, was created and produced, and how he worked with Grammy award-winning artist Bela Fleck on the album
• BJ plays pieces of his famous NPR theme songs on his hybrid piano, demonstrating his remarkable work
• How BJ first got involved with NPR in 1977 after submitting a jingle demo cassette to an employee at NPR, and how he was chosen to write the music for Morning Edition
• How BJ connected with trombonist and arranger James Pugh to collaborate at the request of NPR, and why BJ has such great respect for James
• Why the on-air radio credit turned BJ Leiderman into a household name, and why a radio credit was worth more to BJ than a screen credit
• How a friend of BJ's mother gave him his first jingle-writing assignment, and how writing jingles was an irresistible creative challenge to BJ
• How the Beatles were a major influence on BJ and his friends when he was young, and how that taught BJ about the key principles of music
• Why BJ struggled in college and spent more time doing drugs than studying, and how he decided to get into advertising
• How moving to New York and connecting with other creatives was transformative for BJ, and why he decided eventually to leave New York
• How BJ was nominated for and won a Clio Award, the advertising equivalent of a Grammy, for his work
• Why BJ describes having Lyme Disease as a "slow-motion hammer to the head", and why he struggles with auditory learning
• How BJ connected with Bela Fleck for his album, and what it was like meeting Bela for the first time
• Why BJ is disappointed that the dominance of streaming music has damaged the quality of the sound itself
• Why smartphones have destroyed the quality of phone calls, and why BJ believes we have chosen convenience over quality
• How BJ spent his life following his interests, and why his philosophy has always been that "life is ludicrous"
• What advice BJ would offer to a young person entering the adult world, and why learning how to learn is the most important thing that can be taught in college
• Where BJ tends to spend his time in the community of Asheville, North Carolina

Additional resources:

• Website: www.bjleiderman.com
• Email: [email protected]

Gerald Johnson’s professional career commenced with The Sweet Inspirations as an opening act for Elvis on The Strip in Las Vegas. A left-handed player who utilizes a righty Fender P inverted, Gerald’s soulful pocket playing, warm resonant tone, and engaging stage presence earned him a position at the top of his profession as an in-demand session player, concert performance sideman, and vocalist. Akin to such bass icons as Sir Paul, James Jamerson, and Willie Weeks – Gerald Johnson is that rare player who renders bass lines that also serve as hooks to whatever song he’s playing. As a soloist, Gerald never surrenders the groove as evidenced on his killer breaks found on Dave Mason’s Certified Live (1976) rendition of “Gimmie Some Lovin’ or on Miller’s“Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma” and the title track to Steve’s aforementioned classic LP from 1973.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• Gerald discusses the unique inverted right-handed bass that he plays with his left hand, and he describes how it was made for him by Fender in 1981
• Gerald performs a piece of his own original music for Bryan and the audience
• How Gerald came to discover the bass and chose it as his instrument of choice, and he discusses attending a Catholic boarding school while his mom worked at the Pentagon
• How a random encounter with a stranger gave Gerald permission to play upside down rather than trying to learn to play traditionally
• How being dyslexic caused school to be uncomfortable for Gerald, and how playing bass guitar was important to help him feel more comfortable with himself
• What it was like encountering musical legends like Patti LaBelle and the Bluebells while performing in the 60s
• How Gerald came to open on stage for Elvis Presley, and how he came to become the bass player for the Steve Miller Band
• Why Gerald believes his struggle with dyslexia led him to learn to play the bass in his unorthodox upside-down style
• How Gerald was found by producer Richard Perry to play bass on the Pointer Sisters hit Fire, written and originally performed by Bruce Springsteen
• How Gerald met and played with Stephen Stills and Crosby, Stills and Nash, and later with Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys
• How Gerald became sober in the 1990s after he was offered a job with the stipulation that he not drink
• What advice Gerald would offer to young musicians, and how Gerald immersed himself in the life of a musician his entire life
• Which artists were the biggest musical influences on Gerald, and how Gerald spends his time musically today

Additional resources:

• Miss Sydney and the Downtown Saints website: https://www.msdsband.com/

Roger Fisher

Born in Seattle, Washington on February 14th, 1950, Roger Fisher was the founding guitarist of the rock group Heart, globally known through the sales of more than 40 million albums. Roger has played in every major city in North America many times. He has also toured Europe, Japan, Australia, Uzbekistan and Russia, and performed at massive events in the Czech Republic, Japan, Canada and the United States for more than 300,000 people at a single rock show. He has appeared on a multitude of television shows including Johnny Carson and Jay Leno, and television broadcasts for more than 60 million people in Europe. Songs featuring Roger’s songwriting and iconic guitar riffs have been used in numerous TV commercials, TV shows, Guitar Hero (3 songs), and in several movies, including Charlie’s Angels and Shrek 3. Other artists have covered his material, including Eminem. His timeless anthem guitar intro to Barracuda is frequently used as the lead in for America’s number one rated radio talk show, Rush Limbaugh. Tony Robbins refers to it as part of the turning point in his life. It was also controversially featured by Republican presidential and Vice Presidential candidates, John McCain and Sarah Palin in the 2008 election.

The original line-up of Heart was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2013. His new albums,All Toldand Heart Of The Blues are the first of many new releases with brother Mike, aka Magic Man. The brothers are creating a massive multimedia endeavor, the One Vision Project.

Michael Fisher

Ever since the ’60’s, Mike has been involved in artist development, recording and producing, event production, and designing and building audio systems for touring groups, concerts, and large venues. He was one of the founders of Heart where he oversaw the business until his departure in about 1980. His roles included chief visionary, management, FOH sound engineer, and a producer of Heart. After leaving Heart Michael and his brother Roger built a recording studio and spent several years creating original music and recording other groups while also managing a series of performing bands featuring Roger and other notable musicians. Roger left with former Heart drummer Michael Derosier and bassist Steve Fossen to join a Canadian duo called Alias. Michael formed a sound company, Proshow USA which gave him an opportunity to work alongside some of the greatest entertainers of our time such as Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and other notables such as Bill Gates and presidents Bush and Clinton. His company has worked with many of the major artists in the music industry including providing sound production for Nirvana from their first theater shows continuing to their last show. More recently Proshow has focused on very large outdoor events around the country.

Michael and Roger have committed to creating THE ONE VISION PROJECT, an ambitious endeavor that encompasses their life’s work, including an interactive web portal, four albums which draw from a catalog of more than a hundred songs, music videos, an autobiography and more. ALL TOLD was the first release to be followed by Heart Of The Blues, an album inspired by many wonderful trips to the deep south. Their band Human Tribe is performing on tour.

The Brothers have created a brand, Human Tribe, and are promoting quality products that offer something beneficial such as their Human Tribe Tea and Heart Of The Blues whiskey.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• Mike reads a chain of emails he shared with Ann Wilson with regards to being inducted into the Hall of Fame and getting the band back together for the ceremony
• Mike discusses some of the tensions and problems that took place around the induction ceremony and the issue of having other musicians play Barracuda rather than the original group
• Roger discusses the hurt feelings that were felt due to the induction and the tensions between original and later members of Heart, due to the later members not being considered a part of the induction
• Mike discusses feeling as though he should have been invited to sit at the band tables at the induction
• Roger discusses his former housekeeper Kelly Curtis’s involvement with the band during their touring days
• Roger talks about being voted out of the band, and he shares why he used that experience as a push to become a better musician
• Roger discusses struggling against feelings of entitlement after he was removed from the band, and he shares how it taught him humility and authenticity
• Roger shares when he realized that he was going to work toward becoming a rock musician through a clear vision he had at age 15
• Roger talks about his One Vision project and its origins, and he shares the overarching themes of the four-volume masterwork
• Roger shares how he plotted out each of the four albums and how he carefully titled them to reflect their themes
• Mike shares how he got involved in the One Vision project, and he discusses how he recognized the story found in the common threads of Roger’s music
• Mike discusses Roger’s development of a “hangover tea”, the challenge of getting people to buy music, and the opportunities found in creating things that can be held

Additional resources:

• Website:www.rogerfisher.com

Roger Fisher

Born in Seattle, Washington on February 14th, 1950, Roger Fisher was the founding guitarist of the rock group Heart, globally known through the sales of more than 40 million albums. Roger has played in every major city in North America many times. He has also toured Europe, Japan, Australia, Uzbekistan and Russia, and performed at massive events in the Czech Republic, Japan, Canada and the United States for more than 300,000 people at a single rock show. He has appeared on a multitude of television shows including Johnny Carson and Jay Leno, and television broadcasts for more than 60 million people in Europe. Songs featuring Roger’s songwriting and iconic guitar riffs have been used in numerous TV commercials, TV shows, Guitar Hero (3 songs), and in several movies, including Charlie’s Angels and Shrek 3. Other artists have covered his material, including Eminem. His timeless anthem guitar intro to Barracuda is frequently used as the lead in for America’s number one rated radio talk show, Rush Limbaugh. Tony Robbins refers to it as part of the turning point in his life. It was also controversially featured by Republican presidential and Vice Presidential candidates, John McCain and Sarah Palin in the 2008 election.

The original line-up of Heart was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2013. His new albums,All Toldand Heart Of The Blues are the first of many new releases with brother Mike, aka Magic Man. The brothers are creating a massive multimedia endeavor, the One Vision Project.

Michael Fisher

Ever since the ’60’s, Mike has been involved in artist development, recording and producing, event production, and designing and building audio systems for touring groups, concerts, and large venues. He was one of the founders of Heart where he oversaw the business until his departure in about 1980. His roles included chief visionary, management, FOH sound engineer, and a producer of Heart. After leaving Heart Michael and his brother Roger built a recording studio and spent several years creating original music and recording other groups while also managing a series of performing bands featuring Roger and other notable musicians. Roger left with former Heart drummer Michael Derosier and bassist Steve Fossen to join a Canadian duo called Alias. Michael formed a sound company, Proshow USA which gave him an opportunity to work alongside some of the greatest entertainers of our time such as Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and other notables such as Bill Gates and presidents Bush and Clinton. His company has worked with many of the major artists in the music industry including providing sound production for Nirvana from their first theater shows continuing to their last show. More recently Proshow has focused on very large outdoor events around the country.

Michael and Roger have committed to creating THE ONE VISION PROJECT, an ambitious endeavor that encompasses their life’s work, including an interactive web portal, four albums which draw from a catalog of more than a hundred songs, music videos, an autobiography and more. ALL TOLD was the first release to be followed by Heart Of The Blues, an album inspired by many wonderful trips to the deep south. Their band Human Tribe is performing on tour.

The Brothers have created a brand, Human Tribe, and are promoting quality products that offer something beneficial such as their Human Tribe Tea and Heart Of The Blues whiskey.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• Michael explains the evolution of the name of the band.
• Michael shares how his love affair with Ann was the catalyst that brought Heart into being
• Michael discusses life in the early days of the band, with the group living together in a single room in Canada
• Roger shares how Nancy first joined the band despite the wishes of her parents, and he discusses his romance with her
• Michael talks about creating the first studio album, Dreamboat Annie, and getting signed with their label
• Roger discusses his negative experiences with the band Alias and being taken advantage of by the record company and the management
• Roger shares why Michael gained the nickname “The Magic Man”, and he speaks of the remarkable experiences the band shared in Canada
• Roger talks about leaning on Michael to overcome his communication difficulties and learning to deal with his fears
• Roger discusses picking up the guitar at age 15, as a way to keep himself from running with the wrong crowd and getting into trouble
• Roger shares how he developed his unique musical style, and he talks about the motivation for his album, All Told
• Roger discusses the remarkable story of how he met his wife of ten years at an unorthodox performance
• Michael explains the early decision to abandon his education in favor of the band, and he shares how he had a moment of certainty of the band’s success
• Roger discusses the experience of co-writing the Heart’s legendary songs and his method of contributing
• Michael talks about serving as an advocate for band members and for working to keep the band together
• Michael and Roger share their recollections of the breakups that rocked the band and sparked the beginning of the downfall of Heart
• Roger shares the psychological setbacks he experienced with Heart that pushed him to take vocal lessons
• Bryan shares his experiences of meeting Heart through his father, who was a pilot that flew the band on tour
• Michael discusses his memories of Bryan’s father Greg, and he shares stories of Greg saving the band’s lives more than once
• Roger talks about inviting kids to join them on stage through the School of Rock program at their most recent concert
• What projects Roger and Michael are currently working on, including their latest album Heart of the Blues

Additional resources:

• Website:www.rogerfisher.com

Rayka Zehtabchi is an Iranian-American film director based in Los Angeles. Her directorial debut, Madaran, is an Iranian language short film that has screened worldwide at established film festivals, winning jury awards at Hollyshorts, Urbanworld, and Cleveland International. Madaran qualified for the 89th Academy Awards in 2016.

Rayka's short documentary, Period. End of Sentence., is about a group of village women in Northern India who start a sanitary pad business in an effort to improve feminine hygiene and de-stigmatize menstruation. Along with the film's release, the Period team co-founded the non-profit "The Pad Project" to fight the stigma of menstruation and improve feminine hygiene worldwide. Period double-qualified for the academy awards in 2018, winning Jury and audience awards at Michael Moore's Traverse City Film Festival and Cleveland International. The film also took home Jury and audience awards from AFI Fest among many others and won the Oscar in the Documentary Short category of the 91st Academy Awards®.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• Where Rayka went to film school, and how she was approached to direct her short documentary "Period. End of Sentence." right out of film school
• How Rayka's first film festival in high school shaped her interests in filmmaking, and how she found purpose and community in filmmaking
• Rayka shares the experience of losing her father while she was attending USC film school, and how she felt pulled in different directions
• Rayka discusses her Iranian-language short film Madaran and why filming it helped her feel connected to her father and her Iranian heritage
• How Rayka was approached to direct "Period. End of Sentence." while she was in her senior year at film school, and why the subject matter was a reality check for her
• Why "Period. End of Sentence." was a powerful and necessary story to shine a light on an unspoken issue, and how Rayka directed it to be organic and authentic
• What impact filming "Period. End of Sentence." had on Rayka personally and emotionally, and how she was inspired by the women she filmed
• How Rayka and the filmmakers got involved with and launched the Pad Project, and how the film has exploded and created global awareness of this issue
• How Rayka and her team turned forty hours of raw film footage into a 25-minute short documentary
• What challenges Rayka faced in getting visibility for her film, and her thoughts on when she realized the film qualified to be submitted to the Academy Awards
• What it was like accepting her Oscar, and what Rayka has planned for the future going forward

Hiba Jameel’s art serves as a way for her to process her world. Whether it is to fulfill her civic duty by criticizing the political climate or to express the sensitive sensual facets of life through painting flayed beautiful nude figures. Or painting to heal from her childhood wounds and engage others in art making via conducting interactive art events. You will see little glass cups decorated with gold in Hiba’s work, along with some mushroom clouds, gold leaf and lots of nude figures. Hiba uses the traditional tea cup she grew up drinking from as a symbol of her heritage and as a part of her identity. She processes the world around her by painting her experiences, using distinct brush strokes, rich color palate, and exaggerated figures. Her paintings have a luster finish, gold, and luminescent hues. The human figure to her is a body of language that she can use to interpret experiences and convey messages.

Hiba is a self-taught painter who identifies as a multidisciplinary artist - she paints, programs and leads community-based interactive art events. She enjoys involving the public in art-making as it elevates our culture and introduces a novel dialogue especially when it is discussing controversial topics.

At the age of 8, life forced Hiba to explore the idea of hope through pain and fear. She found it by making sculptures using shrapnel she found on the streets of Baghdad near her house. Throughout her childhood and well into her adolescence she experienced a lot of disorder in the form of trauma, turmoil, fear, abandonment, instability, escape, terror, religious and traditional restrictions, cancer, death, and grief. Despite all of this, as an adult, she arrived to some form of peace and order. She demonstrates this concept by deconstructing the traditional rules of painting and by creating order from disorder. She paints like she sketches - she starts with large areas first, prioritizing form, size or lighting. She makes many lines and images until they are combined into one idea. Shadows vary with the intensity of feelings in her work. She uses large amounts of paint, and layers to arrive to the core of her intention. Each painting is a theatrical scene that uses color, lines, disorder to find symmetry, normalcy and ultimately arriving to a cohesive order.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• How Hiba connected with Gallery Erato in Pioneer Square in Seattle through her work at A/NT Gallery, a nonprofit gallery for emerging artists
• Why Hiba decided to do a showcase of art celebrating the beauty of the full-figured motherly body
• Who Hiba chooses to paint very large works, and how she is getting used to oil painting and its differences from the acrylic painting she is used to
• Why Hiba ignores uninvited criticism but seeks out criticism from people she respects and admires
• Why being a female Iraqi artist painting nudes has been received, and why she doesn't see herself as painting sexuality
• How Hiba's provocative painting of Donald Trump and Saddam Hussein titled "I Really Don't Care, Do U?", has received politically-charged hate from Trump supporters
• How Hiba's PTSD diagnosis comes from her experiences living in Iraq during the Gulf War as a child, listening to bombs explode around her
• Why Hiba uses art as a way to process her pain, and how she learned her art skills as a very young child from her family
• Why Hiba and her family had to flee Iraq to Jordan and later Syria when she was a child and young teen, to avoid the conflict
• What challenges Hiba faced after immigrating to the U.S., not speaking English and having to attend public high school in Michigan
• How the tremendous response to Hiba's art has continued to grow and raise her profile as an emerging artist
• Why Hiba attributes much of her art and its success to living in and embracing the city of Seattle
• How Hiba is working on a collaboration to preserve and restore Iraqi culture destroyed by ISIS, in the DNA of plants through encoding it in Morse code

DreamPath is about discovering the journeys of artists, filmmakers, musicians, etc., into their career in the arts. Through in-depth interviews we attempt to demystify and thus humanize artists and their creative process.

If you take the time to listen and ask questions with genuine curiosity, you will find that everyone - from a cashier at 7-11, to an executive at a software company, to a city mayor, to a stay at home mom - has an interesting story. But artists’ stories are often shrouded in enigma and even mythology - perhaps due to a common perception (or misperception) that creativity is something you are born with, or that successful artists have a “gift.”

While there is no clear path to becoming a successful artist, if we better understand the artist and their journey perhaps we can make them and their creative process more accessible, and in doing so help illuminate our own DreamPath.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• What goals Bryan has for the DreamPath podcast and his interviews with top artists and up-and-coming creators
• What questions Bryan will be asking his guests about their successes and failures, challenges and struggles
• What sort of guests Bryan will be interviewing, including artists and creatives of all kinds
• Why the steps on the path to becoming an artist, comedian, writer or director isn't often clear for new artists
• How Bryan has learned to ask compelling questions and look for authentic answers through his career as a trial lawyer
• How Bryan hopes to share the stories and career paths of his incredible and talented guests