Show overview
Your Iconic Image has been publishing since 2021, and across the 2 years since has built a catalogue of 100 episodes. That works out to roughly 55 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a weekly cadence.
Episodes typically run twenty to thirty-five minutes — most land between 29 min and 36 min — and the run-time is fairly consistent across the catalogue. None of the episodes are flagged explicit by the publisher. It is catalogued as a EN-language Business show.
The catalogue appears to be on hiatus or wound down — the most recent episode landed 3.4 years ago, with no new episodes in over a year. The busiest year was 2022, with 50 episodes published. Published by Marlana Semenza.
From the publisher
Are you ready to take control of your image and be a power player in your space? Then this is the show for you! Here we will arm you with tools, tips, information and inspiration to grow your personal brand on purpose.
Latest Episodes
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S1 Ep 100Your Iconic Image : Beyond the Lens
"We teach people how to think of us." Are you ready to steer your reputation? Are you ready to up-level your brand? Are you ready to connect with your audience and show them who you really are? Are you ready to create visual assets that frame the way you are seen and understood? And, most importantly….are you ready to show up on purpose? My name is Marlana and I am an international photographer and visual strategist. My client base has included athletes, celebrities, WWE Superstars and public figures including Miss North Carolina. My experience includes storytelling, advertising, location scouting and set styling and design. My work has been featured on magazine covers and in NY Times ads. I have been hosting Your Iconic Image for 100 episodes now and for episode 100, my first guest, John Dalrymple is going to turn things around and interview me. www.marlanasemenza.com IG: marlana.semenza.photo Transcription : Vision In Word Marlana Well, welcome to the 100th episode of Your Iconic Image. And today, you are actually going to get a little insight on me, and what we're going to do is, we're going to bring this whole thing full circle. My very first guest is going to do the interview. If you missed his episode, please go back and watch it. It is called What Makes An Icon? John, the show's yours. John Well, hello, Marlana. How are you? Marlana I'm well. John Well, it's an honor to talk with you today. You know, you are a genuine and authentic person, incredibly talented. And I would even say gifted in your ability to bring out the best in people. You've reached this milestone 100 podcast. And today, we get the chance to get to know you. Even though you've done 100 podcasts, many people really don't know what you do. So, first question, tell us about what you do. Marlana I am a photographer and visual strategist. So, what that means is, I take all the things that make you unique, and I bridge the gap between that and what your audience or clients need to know. I do that in images, and that's in a nutshell, that is that. John Okay, you're in a crowded field, as we all are. Tell us what makes you different than other photographers. Marlana I think part of it is my background. But also, at its core, I'm really not in the photography business. Photography is the vessel that I used, and the means of communication that I use. But really, I'm in the reputation business. And so, I think that's the biggest difference. John Wow, I love that. I absolutely love that. So, tell us a little bit about your creative process. Walk us kind of through that. How do you get to know someone? Marlana It's a busy world in my brain, John. When somebody comes to me, and they want to collaborate, because I don't look at it, as you know, I'm doing this for you, I do look at us as a collaboration because I very much go off of their input also, and you know, their suggestions, all that kind of thing. So, it's not just me, it's us. That said, there is a questionnaire that I have people initially fill out and I have worked with somebody who is in the psychology realm to help me word the questions in a way that will make you dig a little deeper. And when I get that back, then what happens from there is we go over it. Often I have found that the answers that people write down really aren't the answer. It's about three answers deeper than that. So usually, that comes from the conversations and evoking those. John Nice replies. Yeah, that's absolutely awesome. Now, you know, personal branding is become such a huge, dynamic, fluid issue and an important one. So walk us through how can someone be best prepared to work with you and make the most out of a session with you? Are there some tips and things that you would share with people about how they can work with you or make the most out of their time with you? Marlana I will say this, all photographers aren't a one size fits all. So I may or may not be the right fit for you. And that's okay because when we first connect, we're kind of interviewing each other. And I want to make sure that you get the best person, the best photographer, the best storyteller for you, which, like I said, may or may not be me. And if it's not me, I have people that I can refer you to. And it's not that there's anything, you know, quote unquote, wrong with either one of us, it's just that we just may not be a fit. And you want somebody that can fall in love with who you are, what you stand for, and all those kinds of things. I know for me, that's essential, because if I can't fall in love with you, then I can get other people to fall in love with you. So, I think that's what you have to look for when you research somebody's website. First of all, if you're looking for a brand photographer, it's got to be more than headshots, you need to see storytelling. And aside from that, I want you to also look at their style of photography, because what you see is what you're gonna get. If you like it, then pursue contacting them and

S1 Ep 99Your Iconic Image : Placing Models and Actors With Agencies
Model Makers Group Model Makers Group is not a mother agency or management company, but rather trusted, industry modeling industry consultants. Over the past 13 years they have successfully placed models and actors with top agencies around the country. Together, co-owners Cristina Buehrer and Tara Rasheta have over 50 years of experience in the entertainment industry. They use that knowledge and insight to empower their clients with the practical knowledge and personalized guidance needed to get started in the business. https://www.modelmakersgroup.com/ https://www.instagram.com/modelmakersgroup/ https://www.facebook.com/modelmakersgroup our sister non-profit: https://www.amodelpatient.org/ www.marlanasemenza.com Audio : Ariza Music Productions Transcription : Vision In Word Marlana: Model Maker's Group places models and actors with top agencies around the country. Owners, Christina and Tara have over 50 years of experience in the entertainment industry. They use that knowledge and insight to empower their clients with practical knowledge and personalized guidance needed to get started in the business. Welcome Tara. Tara: Hi. Thank you so much for having me. Marlana: So, first go into a little bit of detail. What exactly does Model Maker's Group do? Tara: Sure. So, our specialty is agency placement. We consult with models and if they're under 18, we're also often working with their parents and we're helping them navigate the industry. Right. We are primarily working with models, hence the name model makers, but we also have clients who are our in entertainment, maybe as a TV host or an actor. So, we also work with other specialties under that entertainment umbrella. But our specialty is helping those clients sign to reputable agencies around the country. And though I am now based in Dallas and my partner Christina is on the East coast, we work with clients every day all across the country. We accomplish a lot of that through Zoom sessions. And of course, we love to work with our clients in person. So, I have a great office here in Dallas where I meet with clients. We also anytime we're traveling, we make an announcement to our clients so that we can hopefully connect face-to-face. Cuz as you know, nothing beats face-to-face, but our success rate is really the same whether we're meeting with our clients in person or online. Marlana: So, what is the benefit of having an agency like yours versus trying to go direct to various agencies, modeling agencies? Tara: Sure. That's a question that we get a lot. And you know, agencies are flooded with new model, new talent submissions every day and it is the snap of a finger for them to say no. In fact, most of their submissions will instantly go into the no pile. And so, what we found is that, you know, you don't know what you don't know until you figure out you don't know it. And so that's where our models and clients are. They don't know what they don't know, but what we offer is practical guidance to get them where they need to go. So, it often starts with like reviewing imagery and as you know, as a photographer, imagery is so impactful, but a lot of times these models are applying to agencies on their own not knowing what the agents want. So, they're sending in the wrong types of pictures. Maybe they have incomplete applications. They don't know what a talent resume should look like. They don't know what a slate video should comprise of, they don't have their measurements correct. I mean something so simple as taking your body measurements. I measure models all the time and I usually want to test them like, Hey, take these at home and when we meet in person, if we have the opportunity to, I'm gonna test your measuring skills. And a lot of times those are off and you know, this is an image-based business so a few inches off can make a big difference on an application. And so, we're looking at all those elements start to finish to prepare before we recommend that a client submit to agencies. And we have two different consulting packages. We have one where we are doing all that legwork ahead of time and then we sent a customized list of agencies that we have that we know to be reputable, ethical, and professional in the industry. And then they are handling the submissions on their own. But we're there every step of the way to answer questions. You know, to review emails that they receive, we're there supporting them through that process, but they're handling the submissions on their own. And then we have like what we call our ultimate consulting package where we personally submit the clients to agencies which is much more full service. It's a very tedious process to submit to agencies but you know, we've done it for so many years, it's really easy for us and it takes that off the plate of the model or the parent. So, really, that's it. It is just, you know, the success rate of getting signed if you've worked with a professional is going to be higher than if you just

S1 Ep 98Your Iconic Image : Metaxa : The Family Behind the Brand
Zika Metaxa writer Zika Metaxa grew up in an internationally known family spirits business, founded by her ancestors in 1888. As a marketer, she traveled the world promoting the family spirit, as a member of the family business and then, for the multinational company that acquired the Metaxa brand. After becoming a mom Zika left a career in marketing, advertising, and retail and turned her attention to more intimate, creative pursuits. She first penned a children's book in her native Greek language. Her new book, an English language memoir, "Metaxa Stars: The Evolution of a Greek Spirit Within Generations," shares stories and lessons growing up Metaxa. She is currently developing her third book. Metaxastars.com https://www.amazon.com/Metaxa-Stars-Evolution-Spirit-Generations-ebook/dp/B0BJCDHCSX www.marlanasemenza.com Audio : Ariza Music Productions Transcription : Vision In Word Marlana Metaxa, the name is iconic. Founded in 1888, the spirits brand spanned generations as to the stories and lessons shared. Today, we had the honor of speaking with Zika, daughter, marketer and author, as she says a bit of what it was like growing up as part of the family behind the brand. Welcome, Zika. Zika Hello, very nice to see you. Hardly, I'm very happy to be here with you. Marlana So, you know, as I read your memoir, I thought there are a lot of different ways we could take this conversation. But what I'd like to do is I'd like to actually start with the women because I feel that in society, and also in certain cultures, that it's very difficult for women to find their way, you know, find their voice, all of these things, but you come from a long line of very strong women. And sometimes that strength was a good thing, and sometimes not such a good thing. But tell us a little bit about your mother and your grandmother, who you are named after. Zika Yes, thank you very much indeed. Basically, it all started of the woman of the family, my great grandmother, she was really, really a very dynamic personality. Now we are talking in the 88 is of course, that was a thinkable of woman to have to speak their mind at the time, especially in Greece, which I'll come to that later on. So, she was very dynamic she was working in. It was not a factory yet in the business, whatever business it was, at the time, it was at the very beginning. She raised her children, she had nine children single handedly with her husband, but she was in care of everything. And she even had a say in politics, and was able to issue a law. She was also a great philanthropist. She lived in a house, in the suburbs in Paris, airport, very well-known port in Greece. And every day she would have, she would give up free food in big plates for the people who did not have money to buy food for the poor. And there were queues and queues of people waiting for the food. Despina, that was her name, was giving out. So that was my great grandmother. Then my grandmother Zika, whom I am named after, because this is the family tradition. We are named after the father's usually parents. She was also extremely dynamic. She had a very, very strong personality. People in at the time we had the factory so she was coming to the factory every day, people the factory, the employees were always almost scared of her because she was always walking around looking around poking her nose, everywhere, literally. And she has a big nose. And obviously she was not working with finances or the marketing's but she was taking care of the other house. Can I say this The other aspect of the business she was going around making sure the gardens work, yay. We had chicken at the time in that factory that Hans had laid the chickens. She was always around, she knew who was working were in one place. She was walking up and down all day. Like a surgeon that would say, so she was very, very dynamic. Now my mother, Karina, she was less dynamic in the business area. Because she left my father to do that, as it was his parental business. She stepped aside. But she was very dynamic and that she grew up also single handedly without help three children, me and my two brothers. And she had her presence was let's say, low key. But she was dynamic in an invisible way. Always making sure her way, eventually, you know past Marlana and sometimes, you know, the quiet strength is usually under rated, and it's seeming like your mother had a lot of quiet strength. Zika That's true. I think it's very intelligent to have a quiet strength. I have tried a lot of times to imitate her but I have never succeeded because I'm very spontaneous. And I always speak out the my mind sometimes even faster than I should. Marlana But your grandmother and your mother didn't have a great relationship in the beginning. Zika Not at all. My grandmother was very, very difficult in her relationships. And the weird thing is that's why the book is about you know, patterns going on again and again through generations. She didn't have a good relati

S1 Ep 97Your Iconic Image : Tower One. 78th Floor. Sept 11.
Michael (Mike) Hingson. I am president of The Michael Hingson Group, Inc. and the chief vision officer for accessiBe Blind since birth, Michael Hingson was born to sighted parents who raised him with a can-do attitude. Always a high achiever, Michael learned how to ride a bike, and was able to do advanced math in his head! He received a Master's Degree in Physics, and a Secondary Teaching Credential. Michael worked for high-tech companies in management until September 11, 2001 when he and his guide dog Roselle escaped from the 78th floor of Tower One in the WTC. Thrust into the international limelight, Michael began to share lessons of trust, courage, and teamwork based on this experience. Mike is the author of the #1 NY Times Bestseller "Thunder dog," selling over 2.5 million copies, and his 2nd book "Running with Roselle, A story for Our Youth." An international public speaker, Mike delivers inspiring and thought-provoking messages to the world's elite, including President George W. Bush, and has appeared on hundreds of TV and Radio programs, including Larry King. Hired by major organizations, Michael speaks on perseverance, the importance of trust and teamwork, and moving from diversity to inclusion. www.michaelhingson.com www.marlanasemenza.com Audio : Ariza Music Productions Transcription : Vision In Word Marlana: Blind since birth, Michael Hingson is a high achiever whose parents raised him with a can-do attitude. He worked for high-tech companies and management until September 11th, 2001, when he and his guide dog Roselle escaped from the 78th floor of Tower one of the World Trade Center thrust into the international limelight, Michael began to share lessons of trust, courage, and teamwork based on his experience. Welcome Michael. Michael: Thank you. Good to be here. Marlana: So, I know that the events of 9/11 were a little bit ago. However, I know that any one of us that is old enough to remember them, they will be forever etched in our memory. So, walk us through a little bit of what it was like from your perspective. Michael: It's really interesting the way you phrased that because one of the things that we have experienced for me is that, as you say, we all remember it. And over the past 10 years especially, I've realized that we now have a whole generation of children now going into young adults who have no personal knowledge of September 11th at all. So, I think that it is absolutely important that we remember it. We still remember Pearl Harbor and rightly so. Some of us remember when JFK was shot, and all the things around that. I think it's important that we remember September 11th because there were a lot of lessons to be taken from that. Again, actually since September 11th, people have asked me if I will come and talk about September 11th, my experience and the lessons that we should learn. I hope that continues cuz I'm glad to travel and speak and be keynote speakers and all that stuff. So anyway, for me, it was a day of validation because as a person who happens to be blind, the typical response for me and for other blind people who try to get a job is, well, you're blind. How could you do this job? Or you're blind, how could you get to work? I could go to a job interview and clearly get there on my own. And somebody says, well how you gonna get to work? Well, I got here, didn't I? Right. And you said you were interested in my resume. My resume demonstrates that I constantly overachieved goals and so on. What's the issue? The problem is we haven't taught people that blindness isn't the problem. It's our attitudes about blindness. And the reason I say that is because in reality I was very fortunate in one way because what I was fortunate to be able to do is to get a job out of college and went from one job to another. At one point when I couldn't get a job, when a company was acquired by Xerox and phased all of us out, I had to start my own company just to get a job. Well, I did that and did that for four years and then went back into the workforce and I was able to get a job. And that's a story I'm gonna save for a little bit later. But the, the bottom line is I got a job and eventually that led me to being relocated to New Jersey and working in New York. And eventually that led to opening the office in the World Trade Center. One of the things that I have always felt in my life is it's all about teamwork. People don't necessarily do things alone. Part of my team always is a guide dog. I've been using a guide dog since 1964. I'm currently on my eighth guide dog (Alamo.) And what I learned, and it took a while, even after September 11th to put it into real words, is it's a team. I am the team leader. It's up to me to give the dog commands. Well, how do you know when to turn? Why is that relevant? How do you know when to turn? You can see, but how do you know you read signs and other things? I have techniques and ways to do the same things that you do as a cited person. And a lot of those

S1 Ep 96Your Iconic Image : Profit, Passion and Purpose
Danny Rosin Brand Fuel for profit Band Together nonprofit Danny Rosin, is co-owner of Brand Fuel, a brand merchandising agency, that is a B Corp. He is also the co-founder of the nonprofits PromoKitchen, PromoCares, Reciprocity Road and Operation Smile's International Student Groups. He serves on the board of A Place at The Table, Raleigh's mighty "pay what you can" café. Rosin is the active co-founder of Band Together, a nonprofit that has donated over $12 million to 31 nonprofits in the Triangle through live concert experiences. Danny is a tireless community builder who likes starting organizations doing things that matter. He is happiest when there is a mix of philanthropy, music, marketing and "familying." He is married to Niccole, and they have two teenage daughters. He has come to grips with the idea that well-behaved women rarely make history. https://www.brandfuel.com/big-change-were-proud-to-be-a-b-corporation/ www.brandfuel.com www.bandtogethernc.org https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/ www.linkedin.com/in/dannyrosin www.marlanasemenza.com Audio : Ariza Music Productions Transcription : Vision In Word Marlana: Danny Rosin is a timeless community builder who likes doing things that matter. He's co-founder of the company, brand Fuel, but also has a hand in promo, kitchen promo cares, reciprocity, road operations, smile, A Place At The Table and Band Together. He's happiest when there is a mix of philanthropy, music, marketing, and family. Inc. As a married father of two teenage daughters, he has come to grips with the idea that will behave, women rarely make history, but they learned that from him, along with how to lead a life of purpose. Welcome, Danny. Danny: Oh, thanks for having me. I'm, that's, it's nice to hear that the word, family yang is not a real word, but I want it to be. I want it to be a verb family. Marlana: I think you have made it one. I really do. And knowing the things that you have done and put together, Danny: That's nice, that's the one thing that I hope. You know, you think about legacy, I think Ban Together, the work that I've been involved in with that organization is definitely the stuff of legacy. But the family, I just hope our kids look back one day and all the trials and tribulations of parenting and being invested in that, shines a light on these girls and they say their dad and mom did a good job. That's all I'm looking for. Marlana: Well, it's actually kind of funny to watch you on this journey with them, because I feel like sometimes it's kind of like you've been on a wild bucking horse and you're just trying to hold on and keep the reins in your hand. Danny: Yeah, so true. I've got a wild bucking horse as an older daughter and a little bit more calm daughter as a younger daughter. They're 15 and 18, so they're complete opposites. I am more like my oldest daughter, the wild bucking horse. So, I think we relate to each other a lot more, which allows my relationship with my wife to either flourish because I can step in and say, I know what Brooke is going through, or there's just a lot more tension there because, we don't see eye to eye and my wife doesn't understand, because that's not who she ever was. she's got a little wild side, but not like Brooke or me. . Marlana: And, you know, it's interesting to me because you have taken that wild side and anybody that reads any of your history or even some of the things that you have real and posts that you do, you've taken it and put the reins on it to a large degree and directed it in ways that matter. So how is that a struggle for you to do, or do you Danny: ? It's not a struggle for me. It's a struggle for my wife and sometimes my daughters. Just for example, I posted this great video of my youngest daughter. I took her to where I went to college at UNC Chapel Hill. A band we both love was playing. I was involved in helping book the band, and also, I was a big fundraiser, raising money for the Children's Hospital. I was like, you should go. We'll have a good time. And she separated and went to go hang out with her friends on the front row, which is where I would normally be watching the Future Birds. I was kind of to the side of the stage and I could see her and she was living her best life, just dancing, just having so much fun, and the band was engaging with her. And I got a lump in my throat thinking about it because, you know, these are the special moments in life. Like, it was kind of a dad moment. So, I grabbed my camera, I videotaped it, and I thought it was just so great. I put it out on Instagram, you can still find it on my page. I didn't lose the battle when they're like, you've got to take that down of Brooke really rocking out. I get pushback for, I think from time to time exposing the truth, you know, and being vulnerable and honest about maybe, you know, the Crazy Daughter or, you know, this recent one that I think you may be, you know, talking about is the, getting arrested story. So, just a quick note a

S1 Ep 95Your Iconic Image : Life With an Icon
Joe 'Road Warrior Animal' Laurinaitis was half of arguably the greatest tag team in wrestling history. Together with Mike 'Hawk' Hegstrand, they were the perfect mix of intimidation, artistry and skill. They continue to be legendary and you can search the internet and find countless hours of matches and interviews. But, today we are going to learn about Joe, the man behind the face paint and what life with this icon was like. FB: https://www.facebook.com/kim.turmanlaurinaitis IG: https://www.instagram.com/kimlaurinaitis_/ www.prowrestlingtees.com www.powerbombpizza.com Wrestlemerch.com www.theasylum.com www.marlanasemenza.com Audio : Ariza Music Productions Transcription : Vision In Word Marlana: Joe Road Warrior Animal Laurinaitis was half of arguably the greatest tag team in wrestling history together with Mike Hawk Hegstrand. They were the perfect mix of intimidation, artistry, and skill. They continued to be legendary and you can search the internet and find countless hours of matches and interviews. But today we're gonna learn about Joe, the man behind the face paint, and what life with this icon was like. Please help me welcome Joe's Other Half the love of his life and my dear friend Kim Laurinaitis. Kim: Aw! Thank you. That was so sweet. Marlana: . So you know, anybody that saw you and Joe in a later years, would not have guessed that Y'all didn't like each other much at first. Kim: No, not at all. , that was the going talk like once we finally reconnected because we did not connect at the beginning at all. A lot of people knew that Hawk and I, Mike and I were much closer friends. He was like a brother to me for many, many years. And I always used to ask him what was wrong with his partner. Like what crawled up his button died basically, because he was always so it came off as rude, but he really wasn't rude. He was more the business guy. He was always taking care of business. You know how it was in the back, you know, when you have things to do, timelines to meet deadlines, that's how he was. Me being 17 , you know, going back there and first getting backstage and around all those guys, you're looking going, God! He's rude because he, compared to Mike, the life of the party, was two totally different people. And so that's what I was accustomed to, I guess. And then some of the other guys, you got Owen Hart who was the ultimate prankster, you know, and who never had an enemy at all and who was always happy. And you had other people too that were kind of like that. And so, coming across Joe and you know, his exterior, his face, everything kind of come off as very hard when you're like, oh my God, oh, sorry, I walked past you, you know, some days. And one day he asked me, I was outside walking Davies's dog, I think we were in Pensacola or something, . And he was like, what are you doing out here walking the dog? I'm like, because I was told to . Yeah. I was just scared to even answer him. And then I told Mike, I was like, oh my God, can you tell him not to be so mean to me? He wasn't mean, he just asked me a question, but I took it as being mean. And he has never forgot that. Like he was like, I just thought what mom would let their daughter come and be doing shows and vignettes and stuff like that here by themselves and you're not even 18 and having to get your contract signed, blah, blah, blah. I'm like, oh my God! So that's why you were rude to me, . And so, we talked about it later. He goes, no, I was just worried about you. I was protective of you in a sense, but you just didn't know it. I said, no, I thought you hated me. And he goes, why wasn't a fan ? Marlana: So, when did that change? How did he become a fan? Kim: When we reconnected, I actually convinced Mike McGuirk, our mutual friend to, she had recently lost her husband a few months prior to us going to WrestleMania or Wrestle Con that event in 2012. And so, I commenced her to go, she needed to get outta the house. We went, and when we went, we went to Miami, Florida that year. Joe was there doing an appearance and I actually ran into him unexpectedly. I knowingly, and like Mike was the one going, oh my God, Kim, look who it is. And I was like, oh, great . And here we go again. He's gonna like ask me, what am I doing now without my mom's permission or something. I'm having flashbacks. And he was like, night and day, I'm telling you. Like, it was a totally different person is all I can tell you. and obviously a lot of things had happened in both of our lives by that time. We had both been, you know, married, he was going through a divorce. I had already been divorced. I had terminal breast cancer. I had stage four breast cancer. And so, I had already gone through 10 years of being by myself with my daughter. That was my life. I wasn't looking for anybody. I didn't want anybody. I was kinda like that getting back. And I was just there to visit friends, reconnect with people, and then help her through this. And then when we saw him, I mean so

S1 Ep 94Your Iconic Image : A Naked and Afraid Spouse
Molly Harper Heaton Real Estate/Sales Professional I have been in sales for over 30 years, working in a variety of industries-Advertising, Pharmaceutical, Technology and Real Estate. I love working with people to find solutions to their problems. I am passionate about family - married with 5 children and two dogs. I am an avid lover of sports-playing and watching and enjoy being outside as often as I can. Molly is also the wife of Naked & Afraid All-Star, Wes Harper heatonrealestate.com wesharper.com www.marlanasemenza.com Audio : Ariza Music Productions Transcription : Vision In Word Marlana Molly Harper is a real estate professional who is passionate about her family and enjoys being outside as often as she can, something she shares with her husband, (Naked and Afraid all Star Wes Harper.) We've all seen him on the show, but today we will learn what goes into these experiences that we don't see and what is happening before and after the cameras roll. Welcome, Molly. Molly Thank you, happy to be here. Marlana So, it's my understanding that Wes's whole start of this experience was you're doing. Molly Unfortunately, that is true. Marlana So, tell everybody what happened. Molly Yeah, so be careful what you sign people up for. Wes and I were avid watchers of the show, we loved it and every week it got more intense with him adding invite and saying gosh, I can't look how dumb they are. They don't know how to start a fire, and there was just one evening, it just got to me and I said you know what you think you could do better. Let's get the laptop and so literally within 15-20 minutes we went through this fun little exercise of signing him. And hit submit and literally the next day middle of the afternoon he calls me and says you're never gonna believe this, but a casting company called me about the show, and I was like, Oh my gosh that's so great and everything was very exciting, and you know it took a little while for him to actually get on the first episode. It was about a year long. Commitment of a lot of different interviews and it was a lot harder than people think to get on that first time. But right then and there I knew that this was going to be pretty consuming in our life and that we were about to really jump into something we really didn't understand until this moment. So, it isn't my fault. Marlana The first time this process occurred, what surprised you about it? Molly I think what I was surprised about was how much he had to do in order to even get considered. They would send him things like you need 13 short videos. You need it first. There's the application you know. Then there were all these short videos that you'd have to do with regard to being out in the wilderness, and you know Wes is very creative, so he loved that he jumped in that he submits that and then next they would come back and say, OK, we have a 2 hour Zoom call that you have to have like production quality. And that's the next series. So, it literally took about 5 months for him to go through this process and then they fly him out to California for this psychological evaluation. He had never been to California. He was so excited. He never got to leave the room he was in. Sequestered in there. They ran him through a lot of you know, again, you have to go to your doctor. You get healthy all this, so it took about I don't know four or five months for him to even be considered as a participant on the show. I was very surprised. I just figured you signed up. I mean, how many people could be out there that want to do something crazy like this? Is my thought, you know? Just throw them out there and you go with it. But that first one was a very time-consuming experience, and it took quite a while. Marlana So, when it got down to it and you knew he was going, he had talked about walking around barefoot and all this kind of thing, what kind of preparation went in on your end? Molly I was just trying to maintain a kind of normalcy, you know, I think what a lot of people don't realize, and I would say every person at the level that Wes is at really spends a lot of time preparing for the show. So yes, he walks around barefoot. Of course, all the neighbors are like, why is your husband walking around barefoot. You know, he started to build fires in the back and so for me it was really just trying to keep things normal. We had quite a few kids at home. Still, you know with soccer, and we had homework and not that he was not helpful, he was. But everybody could slowly start to see that he was diving into this full-fledged, and so I felt like I just had to be the constant because none of us really knew what to expect. And you know he was changing a little bit because personally he's trying to get into this game mode and experience mode. I really wasn't sure what to expect. So, I just kept trying to be normal. Marlana Yeah, and if I remember correctly the first challenge was three weeks... Molly Yeah, to Brazil. Marlana So, well, he's gone. What

S1 Ep 93Your Iconic Image : Rewriting Our Narrative
Michelle Kuei Elevate LifeCoaching Michelle Kuei is an international speaker, certified visibility coach, content marketing strategist, and author. As the Founder of Elevate LifeCoaching, Michelle mentors women to use the power of storytelling as their secret sauce in attracting clients and turning their passion for coaching into a profitable business. Clients who work closely with her start their coaching business confidently and courageously through Attract Clients Through Storytelling online course. They get clarity to the message and implement marketing strategies that are profitable and authentic. In her book, Perfectly Normal: An Immigrant's Story of Making It In America, Michelle shared her stories of Love, Courage, and Connection to empower her audience to let go of the imposter so they can make a more significant impact. Michelle was born in Taiwan, Grew up in New York. And today, she lives in Los Angeles, California, with her short-hair orange tabby cat named 'Toby.' Website http://elevatelifecoaching.org Instagram http://www.instagram.com/elevatelifecoach Linkedin http://linkedin.com/in/michellekuei Facebook http://www.facebook.com/lifecoachingbyelevate Youtube https://www.youtube.com/michellekueispeak Book Website: http://elevatelifecoaching.org/orderbook a story archetype quiz to find out what story you are telling in your business http://quiz.attractclientsthroughstorytelling.com www.marlanasemenza.com Audio : Ariza Music Productions Transcription : Vision In Word Marlana: Michelle Kuei is an international speaker, certified visibility coach, content marketing strategist and author. As the founder of Elevate Life Coaching, Michelle mentors women to use the power of storytelling as their secret sauce. Welcome, Michelle. Michelle: Thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure to be here. Marlana: So why do you think we struggle so much with that, especially as women? Michelle: I think number one is there's a lot of limiting belief. As women, we have this idea of there needs to be a perfect image of who we are, and that perfect mi image is oftentimes shaped by, you know, what, what is outside of us and not really what's inside of us, right? So, we grew up watching these beautiful iconic figures on television, in the news magazines, and we started to kind of mimic or, or have a role model of, I don't know who your role model is, but you know, when I was little, I remember there's the singer, and I grew up in Taiwan. So, there's a singer and she's beautiful. She has cute little hair. She's dressed up all the time and she's just like, very, very iconic, very beautiful, right? And so I grew up thinking that is how every woman should be. That's how I shoot. I want to be. And so the ideal image that we ha grew up with really shaped our beliefs in adulthood and moving into a lot of things that we do. So, like for the health and wellness industry, people are jumping onto like juicing all these different diets, you know intermittent diet. Why? Because we're trying to live up to certain expectations that we believe are important to us. And so we really fail to look at what the beauty that we hold inside. If I were to look like I don't know, Kardashian, that's probably a bad example, but if I were to look like Kardashian, you know, the girl next door also want to look like Kardashian. So, we're walking around looking all like Kardashian. But is that who you truly are? No. And you know, the interesting thing about it too is people don't seem to realize that even the models that we see in magazines don't look like the model that you see in the magazine. A lot goes into it, and I'm not saying that these aren't beautiful women, but a lot goes into it. Marlana I think, you know, when we look at pretty pictures or images, we forget that there's more than just a visual, right? Michelle: It's the level of confidence, how they stand out in public, the way that they talk. There are certain elements of the quality that we can see through the pictures. But when you see them on television, where they're talking, when they're speaking, there's personality that shine through that image and that together becomes a package of what you know as the Kardashian. What's her name in Harry Potter? Harry Potter, Heron Harmonic. She's British, and she's beautiful. She's very elegant. Every time she stand on the podium, it is like there's a level of confidence that's coming out from her. So every image that we see of her on media, it's like, okay, I really like this woman. Why? Because you know her as a person, and you know how she speaks. So, there's that personality touch that you don't see. We don't recognize it just from looking at the pictures. Marlana: I wanna go back because I read your story about hiking Machu Picchu, and I feel like in that story you took control of your narrative because it could have gone a very different direction. So, tell us a little bit about that story. Michelle: Yeah, so the story actually before

S1 Ep 92Your Iconic Image : Lessons From a Stuntman
Kevin Cassidy- business is Ninja Nation Charlotte. Book is Falling Down to Find Myself Bullied kid to Hollywood stuntman to business owner, author and family man www.kevincass.com www.marlanasemenza.com Audio : Ariza Music Productions Transcription : Vision In Word Marlana From Bullied Kid to Hollywood stuntman to business owner, author, and family man; today we learn a few life lessons from Kevin Cassidy. Welcome, Kevin. Kevin Thank you, thanks for having me. Marlana So, the title of your book is Falling Down to Find Myself. Talk to us about what that title means. Kevin Obviously, it's a little bit of a play on words. I was a stuntman for a lot of years, so I quite literally fell down for a living. And then through life going, through failures and falling down figuratively, was very important for me to get to this success and happiness. I had labor in life, so falling down literally and figuratively to kinda making you a whole person. That's kind of where it's going. Marlana So, you grew up on Long Island and you said that you became a stunt man. How did you become a stunt man? Kevin Crazy long story, but I'll shorten it up for you. So, I moved from Long Island to Charlotte, North Carolina when I was 10 years old, in fifth grade. And I was born in the birth defect in a speech impediment in a heavy long island accent in North Carolina in the late eighties. Marlana You had all kinds of things working against you, Kevin It was a lot. I remember bringing a bagel to school when the kid thought it was a really bad tasting donut. But anyway, I went to college, and I played baseball, I was an athlete and played minor league baseball, a very low-level minor league. Became a teacher in Baltimore City. My pastor was teaching mentor coaching and that kind of stuff. And there was a sport we used to watch on TV called Slam Ball. It was full contact basketball at trampolines. It was on TV for a couple years. Me and my buddies watched it. It was had a good time. They had a tryout for that in Philadelphia. I was living in Baltimore. One of my good friends is from Philly. Went there for a weekend, kind as a goof. We go this tryout, and I messed around and made it and they shipped me to LA for another round of the tryouts. And I was a teacher this time just outside of DC in Hyattsville. And I talked to my principal. I said, Hey, here's what's happening. 24, I have a free ride to lab I can get cut tomorrow. I'll be home in two days. I can be there for two weeks, or I could be there for four months. I have no idea. I'm not gonna burn this bridge. I'm not gonna do this unless, and if I lose a job, are you kidding me? You always have a job here. Go have fun. You know, she was awesome, very supportive. Alright! Went to LA and made that sport and lived in LA for about four months. And a guy I met, there was a stuntman who did a lot of sports, movies, football, and baseball movies. And stuck on his couch for a little bit and got a tryout for a movie called The Longest Yard with Adam Sander and Burt Reynolds and all those people. Went to that tryout, made that movie, got into the union learned the whole stunt world and oh, I'll stay here as long as it, you know, until this kiss me back to, you know, Baltimore, to teach and ride this wave. As long as I can do it. And 18 years later I'm looking for an escape from it. Marlana I'm gonna show my ignorance a little bit. Is there a school basically that you can go to that will teach you how to fall and all those kinds of things? Kevin No, you have to kind of bring that to the interview, for lack of a better word. It's all word of mouth. There's no inter, there's Asians, no managers, no auditions. Every now and then there'll be a big audition, like that football movie. You need a bunch of football players, a very specialty skill. But usually there's none of that. There's no agency managers auditioned this all. You sub immerse yourself in the community. There's a stuntman softball league, a stuntman golf tournament. There's stuntman outings and different guys train at different gyms or different specialties, martial arts or horse riding, or there's Red Bull skydives or searches of people. And there's any, any branch of random athletic endeavor. They're all out there. So, you get to know these people, you immerse yourself in the community and word of mouth and you get one job, do a good job, get another job, and it takes a long time to build up the reputation where you're working steadily. So, you kind of have to bring enough tools to the table to make you hirable at first, which was football and baseball and all those sports things. I got in and as I was doing those, I was learning how to fight and drive cars and come off buildings and do fire. And you kind of build your repertoire and you know, off you go. So, there's really no school. You just gotta throw yourself in there in the community, Marlana Which is kind of crazy to me when you think about it because I mean, these are some serious

S1 Ep 91Your Iconic Image : Making The Leap
Ruby Durham, Miss North Carolina for America 2022 House of Red Suited X Red I have a passion for creating aesthetic spaces and dressing women. I started building the foundations for both businesses in 2020 during the beginning of the pandemic. I just recently resigned from my on-air tv news job as a journalist to go full time as an entrepreneur. https://www.houseofred.co/ https://www.houseofred.co/the-collection www.marlanasemenza.com Audio : Ariza Music Productions Transcription : Vision In Word Marlana: miss North Carolina for America 2022 on air TV news, journalist, entrepreneur. These are just some of the accomplishments of today's guest, Ruby Durham, who has recently left her full-time job to pursue her passion for elevating aesthetics. Welcome, Ruby. Ruby: Good morning! Thank you for that introduction, I appreciate it. Marlana: So first, tell us a little bit, how did you get into being a journalist and on television and all those kinds of things? Ruby: Okay, so I went to Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina, not too far from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. And I was running track there four years. And I started off thinking that I wanted to do, sports physical therapy because I wanted to remain in the sports background and on my own gym for women, have a fitness clothing line, all the hoo-ha under that sports fitness kind of belt under exercise sports science. That was the degree I was taking at the time. Marlana: You had to take electives? Ruby: Well, one of the electives, it was, public speaking and I remember after my first class, my professor pulled me to the side and she said, I think you should change your major to broadcast journalism. You did so well and I think you need to change your, your major. And so my mom always said, if it makes sense for you, if you can't stop thinking about it, then pursue it. I ended up pursuing it and it was kind of crazy because as a full-time student athlete, there was really no room for changes. I was going into my junior year and I wanted to graduate on time, but by changing my major, it was likely that I would have to stay a little bit later. And I did not want that to happen. Well, lo and behold, I just had to clock in a whole bunch of extra study hall hours being a student athlete and I had to take 20 credit hour classes, which was beyond crazy being a full-time athlete cuz you're on the road a lot. And so somehow I just made it happen and it was literally a professor just seeing something in me, believing in me, being confident in me, and me just following her intuition and changing my major. So, I ended up changing it. I got a hold of a teacher or a professor at the time, Kimberly Schumacher, who is still a mentor and a close friend for me today. She was in the business for 20 years. She retired and became a professor for broadcast journalism at the school that I was at the time. And so I just got under her wing and she just helped me create a resume reel while I was in the class. So basically a resume reel is kind of your resume to get a job on tv, but it's more so you being active, showing how you look, how you talk and your storytelling. Well, in the class we would build them and learn how to write for news and web. But on the side she saw so much potential in me. On the weekends, me and this professor would go out and she would tell me to look at the news and, and watch stories that I like. And we would try to go find those same locations that the reporters would be at and we would wreck, we would create my reel based on what was timely in the news at that point. So let's say a reporter was at this fire that happened at this local restaurant. Well, she would tell me to watch it. We would go to the local restaurant and I would just remake the broadcast, but it would be me. And that's how I created my reel to get an internship. I couldn't do the internship during college because I was so busy with Trag. So, immediately after I graduated, I got an internship. Did that for about three months and then I got my first job on air. So that's how it kind of let up. Long story short. Marlana: So let me ask you this, what was it like the first time you were on air? Ruby: It was very nerve wracking because you know, you are practicing for that moment. You are working and interning and shadowing for that moment. I believe it was, if I can remember correctly, it was very nerve wracking, but at the same time I knew I was in the right place. Marlana: Yeah, I get that. So what do you think you learned from your years in tv? Ruby: Oh, so much. I don't even know where to start. Time management, working on a deadline, getting things done right then and there. Because when you're in TV news, you turn a story every day. So there's no pushing it off or waiting unless it's a longer story, there's no pushing it off or waiting. You have to get it done because you're already in your mind mentally preparing for the next day, which is an entire new story, an entire l

S1 Ep 90Your Iconic Image : It's a Match! Treating Your Business Like Dating
Emily Zimmermann and my business is called Grace Communications The founder and CEO of Grace Communications, Emily Zimmermann, has over 15 years of experience leading marketing, public relations, event planning, and business development efforts for companies all over the United States. She has a demonstrated history of success with helping develop new companies and departments as well as extensive event planning and social media experience. She also has been responsible for public relations efforts in top markets all over the country such as Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, and Charlotte. Her passion for marketing and helping businesses grow is what led her to form Grace Communications Emily also has a passion for speaking and educating others in fun, unique ways. Her It's A Match Workshops use the same fundamentals that are successful in dating, to help in the business realm. She has a variety of experience with public speaking including hosting fashion shows, events, live television segments, grand openings, conferences, and virtual training sessions. www.gracecommunicationsagency.com www.marlanasemenza.com Audio : Ariza Music Productions Transcription : Vision In Word Marlana Now founder and CEO of Grace Communications, Emily Zimmerman has over 15 years of experience leading marketing public relations and business development efforts for companies all over the United States. Her It's A Match workshops is the same fundamentals that are successful in dating to help businesses grow. Welcome, Emily. Emily I'm so excited to be here. Thank you for having me on. Marlana So, I'm really intrigued by this handling business like dating. So first, tell us what you see some of the similarities as being? Emily I think there are unlimited similarities, honestly, this all came about because it was a way that I would kind of cope with the hardships of being an entrepreneur, it was how I would laugh about things. And I would find myself thinking like, this is like, when I used to be dating like this, or implying to me of how I felt before I got married, like, you know, and there were a lot of ups and downs, a lot of awkward situations. A lot of just, you know, are you a good fit? Are you not a good fit? Are you a match? Are you not a match. So, it was kind of one of those things where it was like a coping mechanism for me to change my mindset and look at it almost like a game or like something fun, when things would happen that were uncomfortable as a business owner. But some of the similarities, I think, right off the bat that most people are going to be like, Yeah, I can relate to that. Our rejection is a big one. So, as you know, a female entrepreneur or even just entrepreneur, in general, you don't have to even put gender in there. Rejection is just a constant, you know, you just have to be prepared for that. And I always feel like that if you can change your mind set on how you handle rejection, you can do almost anything, because there's that fear of being rejected that so many people have, it's the same in the dating realm. You feel like, one of the things that holds people back, I think, from putting themselves out there, and finding the one or whatever is, is rejection. And it's so easy to take it personally and to feel like, I'm just never going to find that right match, I'm never going to have never been a boyfriend, I'm never going to get married, or I'm never going to find that client, the clients that I want, you know, it's so similar. I think for me, you know, I still allow myself to be sad if I get rejected, because I think that you're not a robot. So, you need to be able to let the feelings out. So, I have this role where I can have a day where I can cry, I could be depressed, I can just let it all out for one day. And then I have to, I have to just figure out how to grow from that. And I think it's the same with dating, you know, when you feel like you're all of a sudden rejected. And if it's kind of one sided, especially, it's it can feel just like this huge blow to your ego into your identity. So, I think it's important to change that mindset and be like, Yes, I'm sad about it, but what can I learn from this? How can I grow? And what is this opening up for me? Marlana You know, because two things came to mind as you were saying that the first one was just like, you know, in both cases, you don't want to be all things to all people and there are people that you just like you don't want to be married to, you don't want to be in a business relationship with either. And the other thing too is, what I found is when a client eliminates themselves that's actually not a bad thing. Just like when a dating prospect eliminates themselves you could have launched a real bullet Emily Oh yeah, definitely. I'm sure you have, and I think that's the healthier way of looking at it. It's not what you lost. It's what's opened up for you now. So I know for me in March of this year, I had a very difficult season in my busine

S1 Ep 89Your Iconic Image : When Women Rock : Disney to Death Metal
My name is Haydee Irizarry, lead vocalist of Carnivora, solo artist at Zahra Lux, and designer at Haus of Zahra Lux (custom leather and paintings). Haydee Irizarry studied jazz, classical and contemporary music at Berklee College of Music where she also became lead singer of the metal band Carnivora. Irizarry composes under the name Zahra Lux, offering the listener a glimpse into her soul/R&B side. www.haydeeirizarry.com https://carnivora.bandcamp.com/ https://zahralux.bandcamp.com/ www.marlanasemenza.com Audio : Ariza Music Productions Transcription : Vision In Word Marlana Haydee Irizarry is a musician and artist. She studied jazz, classical and contemporary music at Berklee College of Music, where she also became the lead singer, the middle band carnivore. Welcome, Haydee! Haydee Hi, thank you for having me. Marlana So, what brought you into music in the first place? Haydee Well, when I was growing up, I went to a Lutheran grade school. And I was surrounded by music and this gorgeous piano that my teachers were using and that connection to reading hands every week and seeing that instrument, just shine, sparks something really special in me. And that's how it began as a three. Marlana Okay, which explains a lot knowing and seeing your range. So how did you go from church music to metal band? Haydee Well, oddly enough, so yeah, starting from three, you know, for my fourth birthday, I was like, I want a piano. And I spent four years from there working on, you know, the hymns and everything. But I wrote in my journal, at eight years old, I want to be a rock and metal singer. So somewhere along the line, and I remember listening to contemporary music, and be like, what's that? That's really cool. Okay, that's the next thing I want to pursue now. So since then, I searched for avenues that would allow me to pursue contemporary music, like the School of Rock, and just listening to albums that were a little bit heavier than, you know, your average him. My favorite hands were always the one and minor anyways, the darker ones. Marlana So, because I've seen you literally within a fraction of a second go from singing, Disney and sounding like a Disney princess to death metal, which was amazing to me, because your range is outstanding, your talents are amazing. When you do that, do you have to shift gears in your head as well? Like, is there a process to that? Haydee Absolutely! Those two different vocal tones come from different mechanisms of the voice. And it has been trained to be an immediate switch. You know, when I was starting, you're figuring out where the proper placement is. But you know, over time with the music that I've done over the years, that switch has become effortless, but it's definitely coming from a different place that needs to be supported very well. Or else it's, you know, vulgaris forever Marlana Did you have to? Or, what was the process to learn that, to learn where those different sounds came from, and how to make them? Haydee The process began actually when I was in college at Berkeley. There are a lot of ensembles that supported metal music there. There's a heavy metal opera, metal ensembles, and that I really wanted to pursue, and I saw that as an opportunity to grow in that sound. So honestly, a lot of YouTube and trial and error. Now, the learning is everywhere. But at that time, it did seem more minimal. Like there's the Zen of screaming and YouTube video. So, it was a lot of trial and error for myself because everyone's body is different, and you literally cannot see what's going on, you can really feel it. So, it was a big learning curve. For me. Marlana Were there people that you in particular would try and emulate? Haydee Oh, absolutely. At the time I was, I am still a big fan of Elisa Y Plus from Arch Enemy, but she was in the Agonist, and I really loved her range as well. I was just me, how do I get that low full sound? How do I get that high kind of like screechy sound, but with it being still full. And then Tatiana from Ginger was being influenced and an Angela the original singer of Arch Enemy, or the second singer of Arch Enemy. Yeah, big fans. Marlana Let's say with bodybuilders, you start off and you can lift a small amount, and then as you keep going and going, you can lift more and those muscles get stronger. Is it the same with singing? Haydee Oh, 100%. That's actually how I describe it all the time. But it is like, because these are muscles, and in order to grow more muscle, you need to tear and then repair it and grow upon that. So extremely Yeah, when I was first started doing that death metal style, or when anyone first started, they really should only do what I would say is the equivalent of equivalent of like a five-pound weight. And for a short amount of time, you know, just pure vowels, and then just getting the sound first. And then from there, you can do a single word, and then go from there to two words. So, it definitely is like, very similar progression to

S1 Ep 88Your Iconic Image : Protecting Your Intellectual Property
Randi Karpinia - Sagacity Legal PLLC Randi Karpinia, CEO of Sagacity Legal, transforms entrepreneur's ideas and inventions into intellectual property assets that can lead to huge profits. With over twenty years of legal experience, Ms. Karpinia is a recognized expert in all aspects of business legal management with a focus on intellectual property rights and management. At Sagacity Legal, she guides her clients through the legal risks they'll face now and in the future, so they can focus their time and efforts on the value, expertise, and experience they bring to their business. https://sagacitylegal.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/randikarpinia https://www.youtube.com/c/AttorneyRandiKarpinia https://www.facebook.com/sagacitylegal Whether just starting out or an established business, I can help turn your ideas and inventions into profits. I offer a free IP consultation which can be scheduled directly at https://bit.ly/MeetWithRandi www.marlanasemenza.com Audio : Ariza Music Productions Transcription : Vision In Word Marlana Randy Karpinia transforms entrepreneurs' ideas inventions into intellectual property assets that can lead to huge profits. With over 20 years of legal experience, she is a recognized expert in all aspects of business legal management, with a focus on intellectual property rights and management. Welcome, Randy. Randi Thank you for having me. Marlana So first let's just ask, what is intellectual property? Randi That's a great question. And for many people it sounds very legal, right? Like, oh, that's not for me. But intellectual property is your intangible assets as a business owner. So, the easy answer is there's kind of four categories patents for inventions, copyrights for content literary, trademarks for brands and trade secrets for the things you just want to keep to yourself. And many business owners are so busy, which is, you know, working on the market, they're developing those things. They're developing their brand, they're developing their content, even developing patentable ideas, and they just don't realize because intellectual property sounds something for big corporations, but in reality, it's something that should be in all of our business plans. Marlana So, the last one was interesting to me that it can be trade secrets . Randi yes. Good one that as lawyers like to use all the time, Marlana sorry. But Randi of course, that happens in a podcast. The one everyone always likes to use as an example, because we all know it is the Coca Cola formula. Okay, Coca Cola has been around forever. That company, as many I don't know, 1000s, hundreds of 1000s of employees it's had over the years, has managed to keep the actual formula, a trade secret. So, they never protected. They protected it using a trade secret. And the way you do that is legally very, very detailed. You know, it's almost like putting a safe in and locking it up. There are some very important procedures that need to be put in place. But sometimes that is the right thing to do. Marlana Interesting. So, let's say an Emeril Lagasse, who has his spice blends or something like that, can that also fall into that category? Randi Absolutely! Because you can't patent recipes, almost impossible. So, you can copyright them, but people can change one thing, and it's done. So yeah. But what's important is, if he's giving each say head chef, in each restaurant the formula, it's no longer a trade secret. So, there would have to be processes like I don't want to miss the, for example, I believe I've researched like Coca Cola, so this would be the kind of things he would have to do. No one would have the full recipe. Marlana Got it! So, he could provide them, let's say with the spice blend in a container, not the recipe. Randi Yeah. This very few needs to know Marlana So, at what point? Does something become not a trade secret? How many people would have to know? Randi That's the hard part I actually don't recommend. I know, we've gotten off talking about trade secrets, I don't normally recommend. It's an interesting area because the law is pages and pages, and then there's federal trade secret laws. There's a trade secret laws; each country is different. Oh, well, most entrepreneurs, smaller businesses, big corporations can do it. But most smaller businesses wouldn't have. It would be very difficult and time consuming to really keep it a trade secret. And if someone copied it, and then they want to enforce it gets more difficult, right? Whereas if you have a trademark on your brand, if you have a copyright on your content, a patent on your invention, you take that piece of paper and say you're infringing. Marlana So now that you brought up copyrights, let's talk about those, because it's something that as a photographer I'm familiar with. I was always under the impression that once something is created, it is copyrighted. Is that the case? What does register it with the copyright office gain us? Randi Absolutely! And as a photographe

S1 Ep 87Your Iconic Image : Never Give Up On Your Dream
Rich Chambers - Songwriter/Producer/Musician/Singer Does anyone still use the term "rock n' roll" anymore? Rich Chambers certainly does. In fact, he specializes in it, bringing us all the fun, excitement, and energy from the early days of rock n' roll in a uniquely fresh way built specifically for the 2020s. Starting with the 2019 release of his Christmas album, "Santa's Rockin' Band," Rich has been on a roll. His Christmas album produced one single, "the Snow Miser vs. Heat Miser," which has been streamed more than one million times on Spotify to date. Following this has been six single releases beginning in January 2021, including his film festival award-winning video for his rock original, "I'm So Tired," which has received accolades in over 50 film festivals across the globe for its hard-hitting social commentary. His most recent release is his guitar-driven version of the Beatles, "I Saw Her Standing There," which debuted in March 2022 to high critical acclaim. Rich's music videos have received a combined total of well over 500,000 views, and his Spotify streaming is clocking in at approximately 25,000 listeners a month and growing. With more single and album releases planned for 2022, Chambers is making his mark as a rock n' roll artist to watch for. As one music journalist recently said in the FLEX music blog about Chambers, who hails from Langley, British Columbia: "One of Canada's best-kept secrets, Rich Chambers could easily become a household name in a matter of months!" With bombastic guitars and a vocal style that oozes rock n' roll. Rich Chambers is giving us something that rock n' roll has not seen in quite some time—energy and fun. It's Rock n' Roll Reimagined. https://richchambers.com/ https://www.facebook.com/richchambersrocknroll https://www.instagram.com/richchambersrocknroll/ https://www.youtube.com/c/RichChambers www.marlanasemenza.com Audio : Ariza Music Productions Transcription : Vision In Word Marlana Does anyone still use the term rock and roll anymore, or chamber certainly does. In fact, he specializes in it bringing us all the fun excitement and energy from the early days of rock and roll in a uniquely fresh way built specifically for today, which is a songwriter, producer, musician and singer, whose music videos have received well over half a million views and his Spotify at approximately 25,000 listeners a month and growing with more single and album releases planned for 2022 chambers is making his mark as a rock and roll artist to watch for. Welcome Rich! Rich Hey! Thanks for that. That's a cool introduction. I like that. Thank you. Marlana What makes your story a bit unique is that you're actually circling back around to a passion that you couldn't let go of. So, talk to us a little bit about that. Rich Correct. I mean, I'm a middle-aged rocker. And it's like most musicians, I've been doing this since I was a little kid, I picked up the guitar at 10 and started writing songs of fourteen. And that's where I got absolutely hooked, songwriting was what did it for me. If it weren't for songwriting, I would just be a hobbyist guitar player and singer, but you put songwriting in the mix, and I went nuts with it. And that's been one of my huge passions is but like many, you know, life journeys, things happen. And when I got out of high school, I was going to be the next rock star. A few cheesy days later, and about a year into that I realize, oh, this is going nowhere. I didn't want the smartest things I could have ever done when I went back to school. And then I pursued went further on as a kid very barely passed high school, I finished a bachelor's degree, a master's degree in it for a while was actually toying with PhD work. And it's pretty good considering I barely finished high school. So, I'm a huge massive advocate of education. Along the way, I played in bands, I had one band and we together for 15 years, start a family, all that kind of thing. And then I got to that point where most people are starting to ramp up for retirement. You know, I'm looking in the mirror and I'm saying to myself rich, this is your passion and this your entire life. But you've never really gone full bore into it. Why aren't you doing that? And I didn't have an answer for myself. So, at that point, I decided right then and there, I'm going to go full in. I'm going to give it all I've got. So, I often laugh, you know, when people hit their midlife crisis, the stereotypical image is the guy who you know, gets the young girlfriend and the convertible. Well, I bought the guitar and started singing songs. So that's how I sort of come full circle. My big thing, Marlana, is I sort of looked in that proverbial metaphorical mirror, we always look at and say, What am I doing with my life? And I said, I don't want to grow old with regrets, you know, so I figured what am I got to lose chasing my passion? Regrets The only thing I had to lose? Who wants regret anyway? Marlana Yeah, let me ask you this, because I

S1 Ep 86Your Iconic Image : Making Your Marketing Effective
David Baer, The Prepared Group David is a veteran direct response marketer who started his career selling classical music subscriptions online at the dawn of email marketing. Since then, his copy and strategic guidance have earned his employers and clients millions in sales. Through his consulting work, David has served clients in industries ranging from Theater & Opera to Wine to Health & Wellness to Professional Services. David hosts the podcast, More Perfect Marketing, where he discusses the importance of creating marketing systems to achieve consistent and predictable business growth. David, along with his partner Ken Cook, runs the marketing strategy firm, The Prepared Group, which licenses a marketing strategy consulting process to marketing agencies and service providers. Together they co-authored the book "Systematic Advisor Marketing: How Financial Advisors Can Strategically Attract, Convert, & Retain More Clients." In addition, David has authored two books on small business email marketing. moreprefectmarketing.com thepreparedgroup.com www.marlanasemenza.com Audio : Ariza Music Productions Transcription : Vision In Word Marlana David Baer of The Prepared Group is a veteran direct response marketer whose copy and strategic guidance have earned his employers and clients millions in sales. David has served clients in industries ranging from theater and opera to wine to health and wellness to professional services, is also an author and the host of the podcast More Perfect Marketing. Welcome, David! David Hello! Thanks so much for having me. Marlana So, first of all, define marketing for us, because I know sometimes there's a little confusion for people about what marketing exactly is. David Sure! I think there's a lot of definitions, the ones that I tend to gravitate toward. And it really depends on the situation that I'm in, the way that I'll describe it. But it's really the mechanism for helping somebody who needs a solution. It's the mechanism that you use to help them determine whether your solution is the right one for the issue that they're dealing with, the problem that they have, or the desire that they want to fulfill. Marlana Love it. Okay, so then how do we make our marketing more effective? David Okay, well, that is a big question. And I think part of the ways that I would answer that is really, to go beyond what we mean by more effective, what are we trying to ultimately accomplish in the business, and that might be more revenue, it might be a larger client base, it might be that we want to simplify the business that we have. And depending on the goals that we ultimately have for the business, that's going to define how we make it more effective. And the sad truth is that this is a part of marketing and the professional marketing world that often gets overlooked, even by those who are marketing professionals, and that's the challenge. So, I'm kind of on a mission to undo that and help people think a bit more strategically about what am I actually trying to accomplish with this marketing, so that there's less waste and more effective and efficient marketing? Marlana Yeah, because you know, you are the first person I've ever heard, say that to basically start with the end goal in mind, and it will affect everything else that you're doing, which baffles me, because that seems to be the most logical way to start. David It ought to be, but you know, we're in a society where we're looking often for quick answers. And I think that we've trained ourselves to look for a simpler solution. And what I've just proposed here, it's more involved, it's more complicated, and a lot of us don't have or don't want to have the bandwidth to do the necessary work to really figure out the types of things that are going to be most effective in their marketing. Marlana So, is the approach different if we are a solopreneur versus a small business versus a large company? David Oh, yeah, I would say to a certain extent that there's more complexity, the larger the organization, and there are exceptions, there are large organizations that do have a very simple structure, right? They deliver one thing, or there's very consistent process in place. But for the most part, yes, there is going to be more complexity, the larger you get, the more stakeholders that are involved, the wider the range of types of people you can serve. I'm getting in the weeds here, but let me explain what we mean by this quickly. Most businesses have no business trying to market to everyone. I'm sure this is a concept that most of your listeners have heard at some point, right? If you're marketing to everyone, you're marketing to no one. What I mean by this is ultimately you want to be as specific and directed in the messaging in the specific solution, the specific problem you're trying to address. Let's take an industry, I've worked a lot in financial advisors, okay. You cannot easily speak to a brand-new married couple or a couple that is about

S1 Ep 85Your Iconic Image : Creating Superfans
L. Frederick Dudek Prosperous Ventures, LLC When Frederick Dudek is not turning ideas into millions of dollars in global sales, the award-winning author, speaker, and top sales executive spends his time inspiring others to achieve their highest business goals. Now you can receive the benefit of Frederick's mentorship and experience through his book, Business $uperfans. Born in rural France, Frederick spent summers on his grandfather's vineyard in France, where he developed a love for French wine. As a youth, he showed a strong aptitude for engineering and competed in drafting and design competitions. After winning numerous engineering awards, he became a draftsman working on numerous automotive projects. He was selected to design the spot weld guns for the 1982 Ford Escort car. That led to Frederick joining the emerging computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) industry, in which he quickly climbed the ranks. While working for a CAD/CAM company as an application engineer, an opportunity presented itself that enabled Frederick to transition into sales. It was the right decision, and he never looked back. In the thirty-plus years Frederick has been selling, he has earned a reputation as the go-to guy for small companies that want to expand their business domestically or internationally. This role has allowed him to travel to over thirty countries and counting. When abroad, Frederick's favorite pastime is to go exploring for hours, not to mention enjoying some of the local cuisine and fine wines. Frederick is a former runner and athlete. Today, you can find him hiking various trails with his significant other, Kiley Kaplan. When not writing, selling, speaking, or exploring, he is cooking or building things. The next thing on Frederick's bucket list is learning to sail and to continue the exploration of countries and their unique cultures. https://FrederickDudek.com https://BusinessSuperfans.com www.marlanasemenza.com Audio : Ariza Music Productions Transcript : Vision In Word Marlana Frederick Dudek is not turning ideas into millions of dollars in global sales. The award-winning author, speaker and top sales executive spends his time inspiring others to achieve their highest business goals. Now you can receive the benefit of Frederick's mentorship and experience through his book Business Superfans. Welcome, Frederick. Frederick Good morning! Marlana So first, explain to us what exactly is a superfan? How would you define that? Frederick Let's think of a sports team. So, the best way I can explain that is, we've all watched football or European soccer or baseball and stuff, and we'll see the fan that's in there. And it's got their faces painted. They got the jerseys on they got the hats; they got the banners; they got the bumper stickers on their cars. That's a superfan. And, you know, they're enthralled and just energized, and their energy's contagious, and they're promoting their team? And if you think about it, is the sports team paying them for that? No. So are they making money off for their merchandise? Of course. So, they're getting free publicity. They're getting somewhere that it's talking about the team and all that PR, they're getting other people sucked into the team to watch the team and everything else. So, the idea came about through my sales experience for many, many years was Why can't a business apply the same methodology to create their own superfans for their business to become promoting them? So, you know, there's people talk about brand advocates? Well, you know, I look at it as Okay, brand advocates cool. But a super fan is super cool. Because it's in my mind is supersedes the advocate, because they're in a sense fanatic of the business, and they're going to be promoting it, talking about it telling all their friends and family and everything else. Marlana The term ride or die kind of came to mind. So then how do we create these for our business? Frederick Well, that's a really good question. Because a lot of people have written books on client retention, client engagement, and all that aspect. But really, if you think about it, that's a silo. Okay, it's strictly about that. Then there's other people that talk about employees and employee motivation, employee retention, and all that stuff. But really, that's another silo. And then nobody talks about the business, what I call business alliance partners, which are complementary businesses that complement one another. Best example I can say, is a painting person and a flooring person, they kind of go together. So, what I did is, through a multitude of research was that I combined all three, because at the end of the day, all three are intertwined. And that's really the difference. And so business superfans talks about how to engage those, that group of people, which is really how to handle your customers, how to make sure your employees are engaged, how to make sure your business alliance partners are motivated and e

S1 Ep 84Your Iconic Image : When Women Rock : From Skillet to Cancer and Beyond
Lori Peters Ocean Studios Emerald Escape (music) Previously a member of Multi-Platinum & Gold selling, two-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated artist, Skillet. Performed on several #1 hit singles. Over 30 years of drumming experience including studio recording, live performance, worldwide touring, & drum instruction. My husband, Chris, and I own and operate Ocean Studios. It's here where we have the capability to professionally record & edit my live drum sessions. We use Pro Tools Studio and have mixing capabilities using analog hardware and plugins. We also write, produce, and record our own music available on Spotify under the name Emerald Escape. I also enjoy volunteering for the non-profit organization called Breast Cancer Can Stick It! Foundation. I'm a 4 year breast cancer survivor, drummer, and rocker! https://soundbetter.com/profiles/69296-lori-peters https://soundbetter.com/profiles/138884-ocean-studios https://open.spotify.com/artist/700jGfxWCVeMtJ0yYXX9R8?si=qBOMgt0MTYasQz-seeNqrg https://www.breastcancercanstickit.org/ https://tiltify.com/@lori-peters/loripeters4yearsurvivor www.marlanasemenza.com Audio : Ariza Music Productions Transcript : Vision In Word Marlana Lori Peters is a four-year breast cancer survivor drummer and rocker. previously a member of the multi-platinum and gold selling two-time Grammy Award nominated artists skillet. She has over 30 years of drumming experience, including studio recording live performance, worldwide touring and drum instruction. Now with her husband, Chris, she owns and operates ocean studios, while also volunteering for the nonprofit organization called breast cancer can stick it Foundation. Welcome, Laurie. Lori Hi, how are you? Marlana I'm doing well. So, tell us how did you get into music in the first place? Lori Oh gosh, well, I was my first drum kit was probably age four or five. So, I feel like right out of the gate. I was already into music. And then I really didn't get into like school band and stuff probably until junior high. And so, I begged my parents you know, can I they tried me on you know, piano guitar, everything else. I just really wanted to play drums. So, I just had to beg them for a drum set and finally got into school band probably like ninth grade, which is a little bit later. Just bought my own drum set from a neighbor. You know, I saved up my money. And I think that kind of showed my parents that I was really serious and watch MTV nonstop. But I think that's that was my biggest teacher was just watching videos like seriously. headbangers ball, all that stuff. Marlana So, what was it about the drums though? Lori I don't know. I think I just have this internal clock. Internal just beat always going at I don't know, I even before MTV was a thing. I'm know I'm kind of dating myself, but I just was interested in so wherever I would see drums no matter what kind of if it was rock music, anything. I was just always glued to it. So that's kind of how I ever since I can remember really. So how were you able to Marlana make the leap into doing it as a career? Oh, man. Well, Lori it took a lot of work. But I think my story might be a little bit different than maybe the typical stories that you hear. So, I played a lot. In church, I played a lot with a friend of mine, like we'd had local bands probably had two or three local bands and a lot of worship team, you know, playing on Sunday mornings. And then a friend of mine that I grew up with Cory, she started to date this guy. And he was from Memphis. And fast forward. You know, he, he was in a band called skillet, and they got signed really young. And I got to be in their wedding, which is kind of nice. But you know, again, fast forward, they were already two albums into their career. And then Cory they got married, and they and she, you know, join them on the road and eventually join the band. And then I was working one day, and I came across their website. And it just happened to say that Trey McClurkin was leaving the band and I think shout out to Trey because I think people forget about him. He was the original drummer of skillet. It started with three guys. So, and Ken Stuart's and John Cooper, so I, I just couldn't believe that the door was even cracked that much. And not that it was like a gimme, or, like a freebie. Like I had to audition. I did talk to like; I knew John and Cory very well at that at that point. So, I just asked John, you know, what do you think, you know, could you give me a shot? And it's like, well, you know, let's, let's go over buy your drum kit and let's play a little bit. And he was like, well, at the end of it, he's like, Well, I think I think he kind of did better than I thought you would, which was kind of a backhanded compliment, or, you know, it was still a compliment, but I knew Marlana somewhere in there. You just had to look for it a little bit. Yeah, Lori I knew him well enough that I didn't take offense or anything but, and they said, well, let's fly down to Me

S1 Ep 83Your Iconic Image : When Women Rock : Finding Success In a New Country
Julia Lage Meet Julia Lage - bassist of Vixen and Smith/Kotzen Julia is a Brazilian bass player, singer songwriter. Inspired by bands like, Rush, Aerosmith and Guns N Roses, she began learning the Bass Guitar at the age of thirteen. At the age of seventeen Julia had become a full time member of the critically acclaimed Latin Grammy nominated Brazilian band Barra Da Saia. After her thirteen year tenure with the band which included major network television appearances, International festivals and domestic arena tours plus 3 full albums and 1 live DVD, Julia left the band and relocated to Los Angels California. With a BA in music and arts as well as extensive studio and touring experience, Julia has found herself performing and recording with a vast array of A list artists and musicians such as Pat Travers, Elliot Easton (The Cars), Richie Kotzen, as well as performing along side Pop Star Janelle Monáe and rapper Jidenna at the American Idol Finals. Julia also worked with Grammy winner iconic Latin artist Alejandra Gusmán, recording a live cd/dvd called 'Live at The Roxy'. Most recently Julia toured with Smith/Kotzen, a rock blues band formed by Adrian Smith ( Iron Maiden ) and Richie Kotzen ( The Winery Dogs ). At the same time she was invited to join the all female platinum selling rock band Vixen. Julia also has her own projects which include her solo music and her band The Sister Knot. Julia's prolific nature as a writer has found her compositions and performances featured in various American films and television shows. She is currently working on finishing her first solo album as well as a Sister Knot album and continues to tour with Vixen as they work on their new music. My website: https://www.julialage.com instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julia_lage/ facebook fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/JuliaLageMusic Here is my latest video for Wake Up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsJu0LJ0hzU&list=PLUNkX209tKPGdGCzhSUBJBhvnlIm8lxrZ&index=7 wwww.marlanasemenza.com Audio : Ariza Music Productions Transcript : Vision In Word Marlana Julia Lage is a Brazilian bass player, singer and songwriter. Inspired by bands like Rush, Aerosmith, and Guns and Roses. She began learning the bass at the age of 13. With a BA in music and arts as well as an extensive studio and touring experience. Julia has found herself performing and recording with a vast array of alias artists and musicians such as Pat travers, Elliot Easton, Richie Kotzen, Adrian Smith, Janelle Monae, and the all-female platinum selling Rock Band vixen. Welcome, Julia. Julia Thank you. Thanks for having me here. Marlana So, you started off in Brazil, then you had some success in Brazil, and then you came here. Tell us a little bit about that whole, Julia you know, there. Oh, well, I played for 13 years in Brazil. And we did have a good heat there for a while. I tour like I used to play like arenas there like rodeos was always on TV, radios and stuff like that. And I learned a lot with that I joined the band, I was 17. So, I was just like a baby. And I remember, you know, it was amazing. But at the same time, I wasn't really playing the kind of music I love. I was playing like what we call Brazilian country music, which is the country music people from the countryside write songs is kind of similar like America, but the rhythm is similar, but has a little different swing here and there. You know, it's Brazil. But um, so yeah, so I started there. And we did all major stuff, like for real, like, we had a boss who their faces on and he was like, a big band for a while. Then he started declining. In after 13 years, I was like, not seeing myself at all excited anymore, or happy about it or anything. I was like, go play like, whatever, I will come home from the shows, but my base and the side, not even look for my base or my guitar, nothing. I'll try to write anything, nothing. Just live my life. Whenever the next show was gonna happen. I was like, Okay, tell me where and what time I'll be there. You know what I mean? So, I was completely like, I don't know, I lost interest. I don't know, for a bunch of reasons. But so then after 13 years, I decided to finally quit the band. But actually, what helped me with the decision was the fact that I started dating my now husband, but you know, my boyfriend at whatever rate you so that helped me too. And then he was like, so since you're so frustrated with your band, why don't you quit? You know, sell your stuff, move and come to LA? I'm like, why? And then actually, I did it. I'm here. Marlana So, we have Ritchie to thing. Julia Yes. So yes. I mean, you know, he could say I ruined her life will say no, you actually, you know, made a very exciting because I was in a plateau, I was very unmotivated. I was I didn't know what I was anymore. What I wanted was too many years of the same things. And not really the kind of music I love. So. So yeah, I mean, I thank you for bringing me here because I've been taking my career here.

S1 Ep 82Your Iconic Image : When Women Rock : The Rock Star in Red Boots
My name is Payton Rose Velligan, but I go by Payton Rose on stage and on social media/website (From my website) Payton Rose Velligan is a 21-year-old multi-instrumentalist and performer born and raised just outside of Charlotte, NC. Specializing in vocals, piano, keyboards, guitar, bass guitar, and occasionally a bit of tambourine, she is versatile and happy to fill any position on stage. Recognized at the national level as a high schooler by associations such as the GRAMMY foundation and Honors Performance Series, Payton has had many opportunities to perform on stages across the country, from small town bars to Carnegie Hall. A public performer since the age of five, Payton took her first professional steps at the age of fifteen as a founding member of the band Irrashional, an original group out of Charlotte which sought to revive the sonic glory of 70s rock-n-roll. The band released two original EPs, Closer Than You Think (2018) and Beyond (2019), which feature Payton on vocals and bass guitar. In 2019, during her first month of college, Payton joined forces with Tommy DeCarlo, the singer of the legendary rock band Boston (since 2007). She has been thrilled to be the keyboardist/guitarist/vocalist of DECARLO for three years. Payton is currently on tour with Tommy DeCarlo, performing the Music of Boston, and with Rudy Cardenas of American Idol, performing the Music of Journey. She is excited to be sharing some of her favorite music with audiences all over the globe! Payton is currently a student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, majoring in Music (surprise!) and minoring in Arts Administration. She is expanding her study of piano in college and spends her weekends traveling and playing shows. When not practicing or performing, Payton enjoys spending her time reading anything - from classical literature to sci-fi novels to biographies to Shakespeare's dramas. She also loves spending time with her family, her dog Cookie, and all the wonderful people she has befriended through music. paytonrosemusic.com @paytonrosemusic on Instagram and Facebook www.marlanasemenza.com Audio : Ariza Music Productions Transcription : Vision In Word Marlana I just met a star. That's what I thought when I first met Payton Rose Velligan and saw her perform. She sings, plays piano, keyboards, guitar, bass and occasionally a bit of tampering and kills the stage in her red boots of public performance since the age of five, she took her first professional steps at the age of 15. And at 21 is currently on tour with Tommy DeCarlo and Rudy Cardenas while still finishing up her music major at UNC. Believe me when I tell you this girl is the total package and I'm honored to know her. Welcome, Peyton. Payton I relate to thank you so much for that. That was so kind. Marlana Well, so tell us how did you get into music in the first place? Payton Like any little kid, I mean, I love to mess around with the piano. And my parents were very musical. There was always music playing in our house on the stereo. My mom played piano, I mean, just singing, dancing. I had a very musical upbringing. So, I love music since an early age. You know, I started taking piano lessons when I was five or six. And I never wanted to live my life without music in it. So that's kind of how it all started. And it just grew and grew from there. Definitely. Marlana So, you play a lot of different instruments. Was that just out of curiosity that you kept picking them up? Or at a necessity? Or what? Payton A little bit of both? I guess definitely curiosity is a good way to put it and just in love and wanting to emulate some of my heroes, probably because like I said, I started out with piano. And then I picked up the guitar when I was 13. Because my dad, he played, and I thought that was the coolest thing ever. And you know, I wanted to be like Jimmy Page or John Lennon. And I wanted to play, and I did pick up the bass as a necessity. Ironically, it might be my favorite instrument now. But I was in a four-piece band in high school. And our bass player went off to college. We were all sad. And we needed a bass player. So, I thought I try it. And I ended up absolutely loving it. So, we became a trio. And singing. I mean, I've just always loved to sing. And I had to find my competence in singing, especially in front of other people. That was not something that came naturally it was playing in front of other people, but I always love to do it. It'd be nice when nobody was listening. Marlana So how did you find your confidence? Because believe me when you get on stage now, you own it. Payton Oh, thank you! Marlana So, where'd that come from? Payton It took a while. I actually owe a lot to my amazing, amazing teachers that I've had throughout the years. I would not be on stage, especially if it weren't for my guitar teacher. His name is Carl Gunther. And I started taking lessons from him when I was probably 14 or 15. And he really gave me the push that I needed to

S1 Ep 81Your Iconic Image : When Women Rock : Dreadlocks and Drumsticks
Tosha Jones, Musician From playing small, smokey bars in southern Indiana, to touring world wide with national music acts, Los Angeles based heavy hitting drummer, Tosha Jones, quickly made a name for herself throughout the world's music scene. At just the ripe age of three, Tosha began expressing herself through music, song, and dance. In 1991 as a true drummer at heart, Tosha joined her jr. high school band and eventually begged her parents for a real drum kit instead of playing on various pots and pans and her mother's Tupperware. Stemming from numerous garage bands and many Battle of the Band competitions throughout the Midwest, Jones finally jumped ship from working multiple factory jobs in Indiana and saved up enough money to move to Los Angeles, California as she immediately landed the Vans Warped Tour in 2008 with then, all-female punk rockers, The Randies. Respectfully, after years of rejected auditions and trudging the streets of the Sunset Strip along Hollywood, Jones found herself in various bands on the road opening for national rock acts such as Stone Sour, Halestorm, Seether, & Skid Row, while eventually landing a long tour stint playing drums for Grammy nominated rock band, Saliva in March of 2018. As one of her personal career favorites, Tosha was contacted by American Idol (2015) to play in an all-female drum line for contestant Tyanna Jones, performing the song "Run The World" by Beyoncé. Fast forward to Covid-19's protocols and cancellations in 2019/2020, and unfortunately like many other musicians finding themselves away from touring, Jones was part of numerous collaboration videos online which includes Sheltering Sky's Chuck Wright (Quiet Riot) in their 2021 Björk's cover "Army of Me", and most recently "Throwin' Stones", which hit on the recent attack of Ukraine. Jones was also featured in artist/singer, Chloe Trujillo's videos, "Mana" and "The Heaviest Sound is Silence". You can also find Tosha playing drums online in the star-studded cast for the David Z Foundation covering "Zombie", by Bad Wolves. In December 2021, Jones was asked to play drums on a few tour dates for alt rockers Carolina Liar, best known for their hit songs "Show Me What I'm Looking For" and "I'm Not Over". In January of 2022, Jones received a last-minute call to bash the skins for the fresh hard rockers, Black Satellite, as they were direct support for Nita Strauss's (Alice Cooper, The Iron Maidens) 2022 Winter Wonderland Tour. In Spring of '22, Jones was invited to be a camp counselor for the famous Rock n Roll Fantasy Camp where iconic musicians such as Melissa Etheridge, Nancy Wilson (Heart), and Kathy Valentine from The Go-Go's were the special guests. Tosha is currently preparing for a summer long tour in the making playing drums for original singers of Josey Scott (Saliva) and Brett Scallions (Fuel) doubling down on the kit for both powerhouses on the Original Madness Tour! •https://youtu.be/3-G9zkcBQTE • https://youtu.be/1ZQy3lQF7Mc https://youtu.be/6UmqG43rSV8 www. marlanasemenza.com Audio : Ariza Music Productions Transcript : Vision In Word Marlana From playing on various pots and pans on her mother's Tupperware to small smoky bars in southern Indiana to touring worldwide with national music acts Los Angeles based heavy hitting drummer Tasha Jones quickly made a name for herself throughout the world's music scene, opening for acts such as Stone Sour, Halestorm, Seether and Skid Row and eventually landing along tour stint playing drums for the Grammy nominated Rock Band Saliva. Welcome, Tasha. Tosha Thank you. It's good to be here. Marlana Did you always want to be a musician? Tosha Yeah, I always bordered on an athlete and musician, drummer, for sure. It was always something that would pull at my heartstrings. Like I always make time for everything growing up. But I knew that I was gonna have to make a choice. Soon once I got into high school. And when I got into high school, and then went into college, I played basketball in college, and also tried out for the band in college, but I made it, but I decided that I was too busy with basketball. And so, I actually didn't go down the music route until a year later. So, it was interesting that that was how it worked out. But yeah, that's kind of what happened with that situation. And then after basketball, I joined my first like, real GarageBand with three other guys on college campus. And then that was once I got a taste of that. Marlana So, why drums? Because I know not a lot of girls play drums. Tosha Correct! Yeah. And growing up in the 80s, actually didn't see it hardly ever. I was born and raised in a super small town in southern Indiana, and I got made fun of, told that I was never going to be any good. Bla , bla, bla ! And that finally happened. Even like older people too. I even remember, one of my basketball teammates in college said something like, you're never gonna make it do that. So just a lot of different people have told me that through the
