John Peña's guest appearances

John Peña

Tell Me Something I Don't Know

Seeing Color

Inside MusiCast

SolTalk

Hombre Con Suerte

Barack Obama

Michael McDonald

Richard Marx

Steve Lukather

Stephanie Ybarra

Chris Smith

Jim Rugg

Rob Liefeld

Erin Hicks

John Oates

Billie Lee

Al Schmitt

Steve Vai

Raul Midón

Didier William

OwlTail

Guadalís Del Carmen

The Sol Project’s Associate Artistic Director, David Mendizábal, and Producing Assistant, Joey Reyes, interview artists and activists, Guadalís Del Carmen and John Peña. They discuss anti-blackness (both within and outside POC communities), decolonizing the self, and centering pleasure in activism. Currently based in NYC, Guadalís Del Carmen was born and raised in Chicago. She's an Ars Nova Resident Artist and a Dramatist Guild member. Her plays include Bees and Honey (The Kilroys List 2019), Not For Sale (UrbanTheater Commission/World Premier 2018, Jeff Award Nominee for Best New Play 2019), My Father's Keeper (Steppenwolf Theater's The Mix List 2018, The Kilroys Honorable Mention 2019), Daughters of the Rebellion previously titled Tolstoy's Daughters (Montclair State University New Works Initiative 2018-2019, The Kilroys Honorable Mention 2017, 50 Playwrights Project Best Unproduced Latin@ Plays 2017), A Shero's Journey (Yale Theater Magazine Issue 49, Parsnip Ship Plays Season 4), Blowout (Aguijón Theater, 2013).  Guadalís has been part of the One Minute Play Festival in Chicago and multiple times in NYC and is a Seattle Public Theatre’s 2017 Emerald Prize nominee. She’s an artistic associate of Black Lives Black Words, through which she has written two of her ten minute plays, Blue Wall of Silence and Racial Science. Guadalís is currently Co-Artistic Director of NYC Latinx Playwrights Circle. John Peña is an Afro-Latinx Creative Activist from Washington Heights. Combining his passion for queer art, cultural awareness, and community growth; John has founded the Reina Project. Reina Project taps from the wealth of QPOC Talent in NYC to produce spaces that center their narratives, bodies, and liberation through art. Through this John has been able to cultivate a variety of experiences in NYC from an art installation in the Bronx, to a panel at FlameCon 2019, and more. Partnering with countless community members, local orgs, and national platforms, John hopes to continue to display the beauty of QPOC autonomy, art, and liberation. David (daveed) Mendizábal is an NYC based director, designer, one of the Producing Artistic Leaders of The Movement Theatre Company, and Associate Artistic Director of The Sol Project. Learn more about David and his work at www.davidmendizabal.com.  Joey Reyes serves as the Producing Assistant of The Sol Project and Executive Assistant at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, CT. They have worked as a producer, administrator, and facilitator on the east coast since late 2017. IG &amp; Twitter: @joeykangarooooo. Follow us on Facebook at The Sol Project and Instagram and Twitter at @solprojectnyc!

The Sol Project’s Associate Artistic Director, David Mendizábal, and Producing Assistant, Joey Reyes, interview artists and activists, Guadalís Del Carmen and John Peña. They discuss anti-blackness (both within and outside POC communities), decolonizing the self, and centering pleasure in activism. Currently based in NYC, Guadalís Del Carmen was born and raised in Chicago. She's an Ars Nova Resident Artist and a Dramatist Guild member. Her plays include Bees and Honey (The Kilroys List 2019), Not For Sale (UrbanTheater Commission/World Premier 2018, Jeff Award Nominee for Best New Play 2019), My Father's Keeper (Steppenwolf Theater's The Mix List 2018, The Kilroys Honorable Mention 2019), Daughters of the Rebellion previously titled Tolstoy's Daughters (Montclair State University New Works Initiative 2018-2019, The Kilroys Honorable Mention 2017, 50 Playwrights Project Best Unproduced Latin@ Plays 2017), A Shero's Journey (Yale Theater Magazine Issue 49, Parsnip Ship Plays Season 4), Blowout (Aguijón Theater, 2013).  Guadalís has been part of the One Minute Play Festival in Chicago and multiple times in NYC and is a Seattle Public Theatre’s 2017 Emerald Prize nominee. She’s an artistic associate of Black Lives Black Words, through which she has written two of her ten minute plays, Blue Wall of Silence and Racial Science. Guadalís is currently Co-Artistic Director of NYC Latinx Playwrights Circle. John Peña is an Afro-Latinx Creative Activist from Washington Heights. Combining his passion for queer art, cultural awareness, and community growth; John has founded the Reina Project. Reina Project taps from the wealth of QPOC Talent in NYC to produce spaces that center their narratives, bodies, and liberation through art. Through this John has been able to cultivate a variety of experiences in NYC from an art installation in the Bronx, to a panel at FlameCon 2019, and more. Partnering with countless community members, local orgs, and national platforms, John hopes to continue to display the beauty of QPOC autonomy, art, and liberation. David (daveed) Mendizábal is an NYC based director, designer, one of the Producing Artistic Leaders of The Movement Theatre Company, and Associate Artistic Director of The Sol Project. Learn more about David and his work at <a href="http://www.davidmendizabal.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.davidmendizabal.com</a>.  Joey Reyes serves as the Producing Assistant of The Sol Project and Executive Assistant at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, CT. They have worked as a producer, administrator, and facilitator on the east coast since late 2017. IG &amp; Twitter: @joeykangarooooo. Follow us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/solprojectnyc/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook </a>at The Sol Project and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/solprojectnyc/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram </a>and <a href="https://twitter.com/solprojectnyc" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter </a>at @solprojectnyc!

Children of the Diaspora with Guadalís Del Carmen & John Peña

Versatility. For A-list session players, it’s not only the ability to adapt to a variety of musical styles and genres, but to the artists who call them in for a gig. John Peña has made a successful career in music by having this ability to adapt to any musical scenario that comes his way. On today’s episode of Inside MusiCast, we’ll chat with John about his path to becoming a first call bassist in L.A. John’s gift of versatility has led him to gigs with a variety of artists and musical styles, including Carlos Santana, Julio Iglesias, Los Lobotomys, Natalie Cole, The Crusaders, Herb Alpert, Chaka Khan, Jerry Garcia, Chick Corea, Steve Vai, Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, Larry Carlton, Michael McDonald, Joe Sample, Michael Brecker, David Sanborn, Patti LaBelle, Patti Austin, and many others. He recently finished-up a tour with Oleta Adams and took some time to discuss life, music, computers, and even airplanes. Inside MusiCast welcomes John Peña.

Versatility. For A-list session players, it’s not only the ability to adapt to a variety of musical styles and genres, but to the artists who call them in for a gig. John Peña has made a successful career in music by having this ability to adapt to any musical scenario that comes his way. On today’s episode of Inside MusiCast, we’ll chat with John about his path to becoming a first call bassist in L.A. John’s gift of versatility has led him to gigs with a variety of artists and musical styles, including Carlos Santana, Julio Iglesias, Los Lobotomys, Natalie Cole, The Crusaders, Herb Alpert, Chaka Khan, Jerry Garcia, Chick Corea, Steve Vai, Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, Larry Carlton, Michael McDonald, Joe Sample, Michael Brecker, David Sanborn, Patti LaBelle, Patti Austin, and many others. He recently finished-up a tour with Oleta Adams and took some time to discuss life, music, computers, and even airplanes. Inside MusiCast welcomes John Peña.

On this episode, I headed over to John Peña’s house in Wilkinsburg to chat. I met John when I first arrived in Pittsburgh for graduate school and always found him to be warm and kind. John also received his MFA from Carnegie Mellon, but in 2008, well before I had even considered art as a possible career. John went to Columbia for a year before returning to Pittsburgh. From time to time, John teaches classes at Carnegie Mellon, so I always saw him running into the faculty lounge between classes. Over the four years, I slowly got to know John, from studio visits, grabbing a beer at the bar, or reading John’s comic, Daily Geology. John’s practice is vast and wide ranging, from racing clouds, sending letters to the Pacific Ocean, and constructing large-scale plaster word balloons. This conversation touches upon many topics, from trying to have control over things you have no control over, to forgetting one’s language to escape the past, and residing in a space of discomfort and disappointment. Some of the topics in our interview are intense, dealing with depression and death, so proceed with caution. John also speaks about his experiences passing as white in some spaces while being seen only as a Mexican or othered in other spaces. I also was annoyed at myself for interjecting so many “yeah yeah yeahs” and “right right rights” while John spoke. I got so interested in our conversation that I didn’t even notice myself doing it. Also, as a heads up, John requested that I beep out a few names to protect the privacy of some of his friends and family members. In any case, I hope you enjoy this. Links Mentioned:  John’s Website John’s Instagram Space Gallery’s Identity Play John’s Mattress Factory Show Tamir Rice Painting at the Three Rivers Arts Festival Bas Jan Ader Donald Winnicott’s Concept of Holding  Follow Seeing Color:  Seeing Color Website Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Facebook Twitter Instagram

On this episode, I headed over to John Peña’s house in Wilkinsburg to chat. I met John when I first arrived in Pittsburgh for graduate school and always found him to be warm and kind. John also received his MFA from Carnegie Mellon, but in 2008, well before I had even considered art as a possible career. John went to Columbia for a year before returning to Pittsburgh. From time to time, John teaches classes at Carnegie Mellon, so I always saw him running into the faculty lounge between classes. Over the four years, I slowly got to know John, from studio visits, grabbing a beer at the bar, or reading John’s comic, Daily Geology. John’s practice is vast and wide ranging, from racing clouds, sending letters to the Pacific Ocean, and constructing large-scale plaster word balloons. This conversation touches upon many topics, from trying to have control over things you have no control over, to forgetting one’s language to escape the past, and residing in a space of discomfort and disappointment. Some of the topics in our interview are intense, dealing with depression and death, so proceed with caution. John also speaks about his experiences passing as white in some spaces while being seen only as a Mexican or othered in other spaces. I also was annoyed at myself for interjecting so many “yeah yeah yeahs” and “right right rights” while John spoke. I got so interested in our conversation that I didn’t even notice myself doing it. Also, as a heads up, John requested that I beep out a few names to protect the privacy of some of his friends and family members. In any case, I hope you enjoy this. Links Mentioned: <ul> <li><a href="http://www.johnpena.net/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">John’s Website</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/johnpenastudio/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">John’s Instagram</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.art.cmu.edu/news/faculty/identity-play-curated-by-professor-kristen-kovak-opens-at-space/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Space Gallery’s Identity Play</a></li> <li><a href="https://mattress.org/archive/index.php/Detail/Collections/1376" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">John’s Mattress Factory Show</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.pghcitypaper.com/Blogh/archives/2017/06/08/heated-opinions-at-forum-sparked-by-controversial-painting" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tamir Rice Painting at the Three Rivers Arts Festival</a></li> <li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bas_Jan_Ader" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bas Jan Ader</a></li> <li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Winnicott#Concept_of_holding" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Donald Winnicott’s Concept of Holding</a></li> </ul> Follow Seeing Color: <ul> <li><a href="https://seeingcolorpod.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Seeing Color Website</a></li> <li><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/seeing-color/id1437098626" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Subscribe on Apple Podcasts</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/seeingcolorpod/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/seeingcolorpod" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/seeingcolorpod/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a></li></ul>

Episode 13: All I Had To Do Was Let Go And Fall Apart (w/ John Peña)

Tell Me Something I Don’t Know is Boing Boing's podcast featuring artists, writers, filmmakers, and other creative people discussing their work, ideas, and the practical side of how they do what they do. In episode 21, we speak to multi-disciplinary artist John Peña. Each day for the last five years, he has made a drawing about some aspect of his day. He calls this project Daily Geology, and presents it online in a form that resembles a webcomic. We talk with John about how he makes a living as an artist, comic artist Julia Wertz’s artist statement, faking happiness until you are actually happy, teaching, and the business of art education.

<a href="http://boingboing.net/tag/tmsidk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tell Me Something I Don’t Know</a> is Boing Boing's podcast featuring artists, writers, filmmakers, and other creative people discussing their work, ideas, and the practical side of how they do what they do. In episode 21, we speak to multi-disciplinary artist John Peña. Each day for the last five years, he has made a drawing about some aspect of his day. He calls this project <a href="http://www.dailygeology.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Daily Geology</a>, and presents it online in a form that resembles a webcomic. We talk with John about how he makes a living as an artist, comic artist Julia Wertz’s <a href="http://www.juliawertz.com/artists-statement/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">artist statement</a>, faking happiness until you are actually happy, teaching, and the business of art education.