CL057: Valerie Day and John Smith of NU SHOOZ on why to show your work

Valerie Day is a Portland based pop and jazz singer and member of the Grammy nominated band NU SHOOZ which she founded with her husband John Smith. Valerie was born into a fourth generation of a musical Northwestern family and she was blessed to be raised amidst a supportive, arts-rich home life. A musical mother paved the way for a fantastic journey - from the ground-zero trajectory of 80’s pop chartdom with NU SHOOZ, to jazz, big-band and orchestral performances with the Oregon Symphony. Her musical collaborator and the founder of NU SHOOZ is John Smith who also joins us today. John is a prolific composer, writer and visual artist. As a composer he’s written hundreds of scores for film, commercials and modern dance. After more than a 27 year hiatus, with recognition of how important it is to show your work, NU SHOOZ is back with new album called ‘Bagtown’.

In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast Valerie and John talk about having NU SHOOZ as their primary directive right now. They also tell us about creating new music for the group and doing it full time. John also shares with us how he ended his medical career.

"If you wake up in the morning with an idea of something to do. That's Golden. It means you're still interested, you're still engaged, and you've got somewhere to go. The direction is unfolding before you one step at a time."

- John Smith

"Do the things that move the whole thing forward for you."

- Valerie Day

Valerie Day and John Smith 'Show Your Work' Show Notes:

Writing songs in batches of ten (11:17)
How Music Works by David Byrne (12:17)
The Portland music scene (14:24)
Synesthesia amongst musicians (16:00)
Writer's block (16:32)
Inspiration is for amateurs (17:03)
Two types of film directors (19:22)
Spotting sessions (21:43)
Austin Kleon's 'Show Your Work' (25:19)
Lyric videos    • 'Real Thing' Official Lyric Video   (28:20)
Twyla Tharp (31:51)
Put your body there (32:47)


Favorite Tools:
YouTube
iMovie
Canva

Favorite Books:
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon

Favorite Record:
Smithsonian Collection of Folk Music by Harry Smith
Esperanza Spalding

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LinkedIn:   / jameskirktaylor  
This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.
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ABOUT JAMES
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As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).
Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me
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ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE
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The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.
The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me
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Please watch: "Edward DeBono and The Uncreative Brain - Why You Need Creative Thinking Skills"
   • Edward DeBono and The Uncreative Brai...  
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