Double Bass & Double Vodka: A Chat with Christian McBride

Hey folks! I had the privilege of chatting with bass extraordinaire Christian McBride a couple weeks ago. Since this interview, I saw Christian perform alongside Aretha Franklin, Herbie Hancock and others for the White House's celebration of International Jazz Day. He is everywhere!

Christian is a 5 time Grammy Award winner whose recorded on more than 300 albums and is widely considered to be one of the most accomplished and respected bassists of our generation. In his youth, Christian was a prodigy and his contributions to the music world as an adult have not disappointed. As a jazz bassist, he’s played alongside the likes of Freddie Hubbard, Pat Metheny, Roy Haynes, McCoy Tyner, Brad Mehldau, Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis and on and on. Outside of Jazz, he’s played with James Brown, Paul McCartney, Celine Dione, Usher and countless others. When Sting had the chance to perform with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, he decided just to sing and not to play bass and thus, he recruited Christian — and as Sting said, “I don’t give up the seat in my band easily, unless it’s, you know, The Best.”  

While Christian remains humble about his own original work, there is a playful sophistication to his composition, and in that way, it's representative of who he is. In other words, even though he may extenuate the depth of his own work, that's Christian being Christian. His technical abilities allow him to push the music further that most musicians could wish for. 

Just a few months ago, Christian was the Musical Director for the Smithsonian Salutes Ray Charles: In Performance at the White House. Christian, his upright bass and his unmistakable smile are center stage leading the charge throughout the night. In March it was announced that Christian has accepted the role as the new Artistic Director for the Newport Jazz Festival -- he'll replace legendary founder George Wein. You can hear him on “The Lowdown: Conversations with Christian” on SiriusXM satellite radio or on NPR's “Jazz Night in America” weekly radio show. He’s a legend in his time and I’m proud to call him a friend.

Story Time with Rock N' Roll Legend Lloyd Price

Welcome Back! I had to take a substantial break from ON J(AIR)ED while I worked on some other projects, but it's great to be back!

Firstly, A big thanks to the awesome folks at Kicking Horse Coffee for sponsoring this new season and for keeping me well caffeinated! The first thing you see on their site is a mug that says "wake up & kick ass" -- which about sums it up. 

Season Two kicks off with one of the "Godfathers of Rock n' Roll" -- Mr. Lloyd Price. Lloyd wrote hits like "Stagger Lee," "Lawdy Miss Clawdy," "Personality," "I'm Gonna Get Married," "Just Because," and my personal favorite, "Lady Luck." His life story  reads like something out of fictional script -- he was the first artist to ever sell a million records, the first black artist to hit #1 on the charts, his music has been covered by artists like John Lennon, Elvis and James Brown, he was inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame and his story is now rightfully being taken to Broadway and to Hollywood. Lloyd's music was the first to bring black and white audiences together. During a time of intense segregation, teenage boys and girls of different races filled concert halls, sang together, danced together, and started a youth movement in America and changed things forever. 

Beyond his music career and social impact, Lloyd became an incredibly successful entrepreneur, promoter and businessman. From promoting the biggest boxing matches in history, to developing affordable housing in New York, to negotiating licensing deals in Africa for 10 years, it's safe to say that Lloyd Price has an innate drive to learn, create and thrive. 

On a cold day this winter, Lloyd generously visited me at my home to talk about his life. Now at 82-years-old, you'll hear that he remains as excited about life and possibility as someone a quarter of his age. 

Lastly, as a side note, due to all kinds of complications with licensing and copyright laws, we can't play Lloyd's tunes in this episode, so I've included links for you to check out. Hopefully we'll sort out that legal business as we move forward. 

Life's Too Short To Have Sucky Days - A Glimpse Into The Joyous World of Entrepreneur Ido Leffler

Ido on Twitter: @idoleffler 
YesTo on Twitter: @yestocarrots
Yoobi on Twitter: @Yoobigives
Cheeky Home on Twitter: @Cheeky_Home

Serial Entrepreneur Ido Leffler is the Co-Founder of the wildly successful companies YesTo, Yoobi and Cheeky Home. He is the author of Get Big Fast and Do More Good (Amazon Publishing), a husband, a dad,  an all around awesome human being and someone I'm grateful to call a friend. In our conversation, Ido covers a lot of ground -- from the stories behind his successful brands, to his outlook on life to his three pillars of business, and much more. One thing is for certain --  Ido is as cool as s cucumber (note the plug here for Yes To Cucumbers).  

Here are a few of Ido's career highlights:
•Member, Dell Entrepreneur in Residence Global Advisory Board
•Co-Founder, YesTo (2nd Largest Natural Beauty Brand in the U.S.) 
•Co-Founder, Yoobi ($20m in Year 1 / Donated School Supplies to 1 Million students in the U.S.)
•Member, UN Foundation’s Global Entrepreneur Council
•Birch box Advisor
•Soma Water Board Member
•Telecom New Zealand Board Member
•Fast Company's "1,000 Most Creative People in Business"
•Smart Company Australia's "Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30"

P.S. YesTo & Yoobi hooked listeners up with discounts so look below for the codes!

Homeruns & Homework - The Odyssey of Bernie Williams

Hola! For  Episode 4 was fortunate enough to sit down and talk with the great Bernie Williams. As I mention in the episode, Bernie's career with the Yankees speaks for itself. He's one of the greats who we all remember for his exceptional post-season prowess. I never like when interviewers ask questions like, "so Bernie, it's the bottom of the 8th, the bases are loaded and you get up to the plate....what was going through your mind?" Instead I just wanted to learn more about who Bernie is and how he sees himself. Baseball is certainly a huge part of his identity, but his second career as a musician is what occupies his mind these days. 

We squeezed in this interview before he hit the stage at The Ridgefield Playhouse and he brought along his guitar so you can hear him noodling around during our talk. We chat about life in Puerto Rico, his days in Siesta Key during the minors and his current journey to find his voice on the guitar, which includes his new role as a student at the Manhattan School of Music. Enjoy!

I've Loved These Days: Mike Delguidice of Billy Joel's Band

Pictured in the band photo: Carl Fischer, Mark Rivera, Jared Shahid, Mike Delguidice, Crystal Taliefero (photobombing), Tommy Byrnes and Chuck Burgi

I traveled down to Philly last week to meet up with the newest member of the Billy Joel Band, Mike Delguidice. That night they were playing to 43,000 people at Citizen Bank Park. Not bad I guess. I had a blast talking with Mike - I love his story. He's an incredibly talented, hard working musician who had a Billy Joel tribute band for 14 years before he got the call that would change his life forever. Mike speaks from the heart - he's candid, funny, genuine and humble. If you like good stories, Billy Joel, Long Island accents, and the f word, you'll love this episode. 

Links to All Things Mike Delguidice:
Big Shot Homepage
New York Times Article
Mike performing with Billy Joel

"It's almost as if I'm harmonizing with myself" - Billy Joel

Escaping North Korea with Mike Kim

My guest for Episode 2 is Mike Kim. By trade Mike is a consultant, having done significant stints at Deloitte and Ferrazzi Greenlight. But what his co-workers might not know is that he spent 4 years at the China-North Korea border helping North Korean victims of human trafficking and sex trafficking escape into China along a 6,000 mile modern day underground railroad. Upon his return from the East, Mike went on the The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to tell his story. Here's what Jon had to say about Mike's visit....

"One of the most incredible stories of personal bravery I’ve ever heard. One man equipped only with his passion and a group of people equally committed, helping North Koreans escape through a modern-day underground railroad." -- Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

I spent a fair amount of time trying to understand Mike's formative years and how they informed his choices -- particularly his choice to move to the East. Afterwards, we dig into his trip, reentering U.S. culture and the future outlook for his story. 

Here's a link to Mike's book, Escaping North Korea, as well as some footage of him on  Anderson Cooper 360.

Carter McLean - The backbeat of Broadway's The Lion King

This past weekend I had the pleasure of talking with Broadway’s Carter McLean who plays drums for Lion King — the highest grossing Broadway show of all time!  He's a great guy, great friend and willing test subject for an impromptu interview. We talked about his early days as a Van Halen fan to getting a drum sponsorship while still in high school and much more.  It’s a loose, poolside foray into the world of interviewing, recording and editing. Enjoy!

Check out Carter on Facebook and YouTube. Or if you play drums, I highly recommend checking out Carter's Drumeo Lesson on Improving Your Feel.