The Stay Amazing Show

This is Part two of our conversation with Kari Kirkland. Part one, where she talks about her new album can be heard on Episode 80. After the release of her remarkable first album 'Wild Is The Wind' in 2021, Kari discovered that a musician friend of hers was in need of a kidney transplant. She discussed it with her husband and decided to get tested to see if she would be a good match. After a series of tests, it was determined that she would be a perfect match for her friend Robert. So in...

Kari Kirkland is back with a new album 'If (When You Go)". It is her follow up to "Wild Is The Wind" released in 2021. Kari again collaborates with the genius of musical arranger and producer Shelly Berg who helps Kari's musical vision come to life. The giant leap that this new album takes production and song selection wise over the first album is incredible. Again Kari and Shelly choose the best musicians for this project. Muscians who have collectively played on over 2,000...

Suicide is a subject people find difficult to discuss. Jennifer Scott tried twice to take her life due to years of trauma. She survived and has now turned her story into an important film - "Eyes Upon Waking". The film takes you from her second suicide attempt to her stay at a facility and how that experience changed her life. It's a film that shows the reality of mental health through the eyes of the main character, Taren Foley. The film sends a powerful message to those who know someone...

Vanessa Rusk, known as The Girl On A Bike, is passionate about living life to the fullest. A self described adrenaline junkie, Vanessa has always been active, into sports and fitness. She works hard and she plays hard. But it was in Match of 2014, that her life changed. She was riding her bike when it collided with a car that ran a red light. At the hospital, she was misdiagnosed with just bruises. When in reality she had injuries to her shoulder and hip that required seven surgeries to...

Kimi Donahue is multi talented and knows no limits. Besides being a very successful businesswoman, she also is an abstract artist, singer in various bands and does it all with a "All In" attitude. Being busy with all her various interests and careers gives her happiness and purpose in her life. We discuss where Kimi finds the energy to do all the things he is involved with. We also discuss having the right environment and people around you, the importance of having coaches for all aspects...

With a distinguished career in classical music and Opera as a singer and vocal coach, Ruth Hartt has witnessed the struggles those organizations face to retain and grow their audiences. Ruth is also the the Chief of Staff for the Christensen Institute, a non profit, non partisan think tank. Ruth has used this knowledge to help classical music businesses grow through the Jobs To Be Done methodology. "People don't buy because of who they are. People buy because of who they want to...

Sarah Hicks is a multi faceted, influential and versatile conductor who is always exploring new ways to bring a unique concert experience to both the musicians and the audience. She not only has lead orchestras all over the world but has also crossed classical music with different music genres to create a third art form. Sarah also enjoys conducting the 'Live to Film' concert events. These are challenging major production events where an orchestra plays live to a film. Some past events...

In this mini-episode, Ricardo gives his thoughts on the importance of sharing your life story with the world. There is much to be learned by everyone once you realize that your life experiences and knowledge can impact someone you've never met or dreamed of knowing. The Stay Amazing Show is about giving great storytellers the platform to share those stories and for the listener to be inspired by them. Words are powerful and storytelling has a purpose. We need more human connection now more...

Musicians for The World is a non-profit organization that provides music lessons to music students in vulnerable communities around the world. The organization was founded by classical musicians Jesus Saenz and Kelly McGarry in May 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic! Through their connections with other musicians, many of whom were out of work during that time, they were able to begin virtual classes in Africa, South and Central America, Asia and the Caribbean. Now they have...

Keyboardist and composer Joey Navarro has been a musical force not only in Arizona but in Los Angeles as well. He stated getting into music art age six when he received his first toy organ. Joey grew up with music all around him and soon was learning how to play organ by listening to his families records. One of his early influences was the group El Chicano. He was drawn to the way organist Bobby Espinoza played. He continued his studies and soon started playing in various bands around the...

At just 22 years of age, drummer Gina Osmar has become a much sought after artist for recordings and live performances. Her parents discovered her talents at age three as Gina banged away on coffee cans in a make believe drum set. They noticed her ability to create rhythms and not just noise. By age seven, she was performing with her church band and by age eleven she was in Nashville recording drum tracks for a country artist. It was then that Gina realized that being a musician was what...

JV Collier and Rene Camacho are two of the most respected, in demand bassists on the music scene today. While JV was already established in Los Angeles, he met Rene more than 25 years ago in Tucson, Arizona and soon after moving to Los Angeles began working non-stop. They have performed and recorded with a who's who of musical talent. Everyone from Bruce Hornsby, Gladys Knight, Celia Cruz, WAR, The Funk Brothers, Kevin Eubanks, the Pointer Sisters, Draco Rosa, Herbie Hancock, Juan Gabriel,...

Felicia Farerre's talent for singing was first noticed by her father at a very young age. With his encouragement, she began to study voice, She discovered her talent for writing lyrics, poetry at a young age also. Her growth as a musician continued by working in bands like the Taliesin Orchestra, learning to 'copy' the style of other vocalists that lead to her finding her own voice. Felicia's journey to "finding her voice" lead to her writing the book, "Real Singers Don't Sing"; a...

We always like to feature guests with expertise that focuses on mindset, clarity, energy, purpose, human connection and bringing our the Amazingness in us all. Selena Reames speaks and coaches at the intersection of human potential, consciousness, mindset,neuroscience, creativity and leadership. She is dedicated to supporting emerging leaders, change makers and innovators into their fullest expression of human potential and expression. Selena uses her own life experiences to help her...

With a background as a musician and high school athlete, Ed Vargas has been able to use those experiences in business to communicate, collaborate and make positive changes with the organizations he works with. Ed is a visionary leader who shares his strategies for success such as having credibility, building trust and giving respect. In this episode, Ed talks about a trip to Japan to meet with business leaders and how a simple conversation lead to a major collaboration. Simply by being able...

Our latest conversation in our "Amazing Women In Music" series, features the immensely talented bassist and vocalist, Katie Thiroux. Katie has performed with many of the most influential jazz artists as well as leading her own groups. Katie has also released three albums. She began at playing a very early age and through the encouragement of her parents discovered her passion for music playing in school bands and later in orchestra settings. It was listening to bass legend Ray Brown that...

As a musician, teacher and entrepreneur, Eric Branner knows the importance of what music can do to inspire a community. When you engage with a community, you build trust and caring. By sharing his love of music, his students realize the value they give through their playing. A message that is carried on to the other musicians they associate with. Eric has been teaching guitar for over twenty years, through one on one and group classes. When the virus hit, Eric went to online classes with...

Kristina Marinova is an expressive, passionate, stunning classical pianist who devotes herself to finding the soul of the composer and the meaning of their music in every performance. She understands the power music has in it's emotion and expression. Kristina's efforts in researching the music and artist make her interpretation of the pieces that much more enjoyable. Her three points of reference that play into her music are Purpose, Listening and Balance. Her latest album is a solo piano...

We are all products of our upbringing where we're taught values and learn from our experiences. Dr. Francisco Jimenez learned from his parents the values of hard work, respect, faith and hope. Throughout his career, Dr. Jimenez, an educator and advocate for better educational systems, has used those examples and values to raise the standards for both students and teachers Francisco migrated with his family to the United States at a very young age. His parents worked hard in the fields to...

When you bring together four accomplished, passionate musicians from different cultural and musical backgrounds, typically, a new style of music is born. The Red Quartet features classically trained musicians who fuse classical, chamber music with Latin Jazz and Brazilian music. Each musician adds their own coloring to the music to give it a fresh sound. In this episode we speak with three of the four members who share their musical history, their influences, how the ensemble came together,...