Matt Connarton Unleashed 8-2-25 hour 3

Speaker 1: W m n H rip the novels.

Speaker 2: We're back from the brand Macconnerson. Least you're listening to macconnorton unleash Todd w m n H ninety five point three.

Speaker 1: Well you know, well you know, will you know that you got there? Said, well you know? Will you know? Will you know that you got this?

Speaker 3: Hmm?

Speaker 4: Running through a mansion? Answer in a standing question, left alone, through room, through both LEAs I know you left me question. Destiny is best to ring obsessing all my lessons learned. I think I've earned some rest against It's time to burn the desperate yearning for lott'st to cope with later greater understanding handling matters as a man in standing a foot what we know is right, and making not demands, and never given into ghosts, just hoping for where change. It never comes, as long as you don't run.

Speaker 4: It's fundamentally u central central Intel spelled it out. It sounds a bit like self fulf wellness.

Speaker 1: You've already won.

Speaker 4: It's all about the combined. Some time is an illusion. You can do it because you've done it someday, some say, prove it to yourself, and that's enough to use the runway claims be taking off of oft these guys and lives to try to find us, flying freely, feeling finding finding fly past, not to find us, climbing higher than we dared you sched you fall back to the ground, resounding off the atmosphere.

Speaker 1: It's clear, will never come back down. Oh no, we're all out.

Speaker 5: Day painting on this canon, last our sparks left. We're burning like the stars. We've got scars as.

Speaker 1: We've earned them working on so well, you know, well, you know well, you know that you got this, said, well, you know well, you know well, you know that you got this. M I feel a little bitter about this.

Speaker 4: Read a lot a lot of lyrics. Need a bit to sit and settle myself done before I hear it fears nothing to do with the science system. Listen, serious, gear up, dust off script the rust off. You can drive a number and ver six off this path that at last, I I've found so many floors and lock doors are torn down? How many more before I'm forced to lay down and take a break, Before I break and fade out? Listen and that this it's got me thinking about what's missing. It's insensitive, obsessing over every single mistake, taking time and making rhymes to take my minds up all this sickness witness in between the lines of something written you got this, you got this?

Speaker 1: Well you know, well you know? Will you know that you got this? Said, well you know? Will you know? Will you know that you got this?

Speaker 6: M You can through these windows, watching people following wind blows, holding on the hope that no wind folds beneath the weight of carry getting their burdens, hurting inside and out, trying trying to be something someday, some way, somehow, someone that they can be proud of, sure the work what they climbed out of, holding onto who they were while turning into something more.

Speaker 4: Be putting keys in their own doors, ensuring needs to just be sure so they won't need to need no more. Indeed, we plead to leave this core, imploring we don't need to work, and we can be without being forced, without being forced, without being forced, without.

Speaker 6: Being forced, without being poor, without being poor, without being without.

Speaker 7: I love that we haven't listened to that one in a while. That is running through a mansion by six minds combined. Welcome back, everybody. We have entered our number three new marrow. Trace of Matt Connerton Unleashed and we are live from the studios of wm NH ninety five point three FM and Glorious Manchester, New Hampshire. Of course, you can also stream the show from anywhere. Go to Matt connorton dot com, slash live for all of your live streaming options, social media links, contact infosh archives, et cetera, et cetera.

Speaker 7: If you are listening live today is Saturday August two, two thousand and twenty five, and joining us now live in studio. Let me get that mic up here. We have a craft yk with that camera on you there too, because you've got you've got some cool stuff to show us. But of course from also on Facebook, you're my art by KF, My art by KF and of course Chaotic Photography that's the k right yep. So it's wonderful to have you here. We met through Terminus Underground, right is that's where we met initially.

Speaker 7: Yes, you've you've taken. I was talking about you at the top of the show today talking about what's coming up, and I did mention that you've Many of the photographs, the great photographs of artists, especially performing live, have been taken by you those are your pictures.

Speaker 8: I every time I'm able to get there and the bands are playing, I talk to them. I get the permission to be up their butts with my camera because I like to get the shots that.

Speaker 9: Nobody else gets.

Speaker 8: Yeah, and yes, I do use my phone, but I don't consider myself a photographer.

Speaker 9: I'm an artist.

Speaker 8: So I'm going to use whatever medium I have at that time that's going to fit that project. Yeah, and then take them and then when I develop them, I have them. Well I don't have I give them to andre and at Terminus and he puts them in the frames, and we have the Hallway of Fame.

Speaker 9: Yes, of Terminus.

Speaker 8: So if you play there and I'm able to capture you, you go into the hallway.

Speaker 7: Yep. Yeah, absolutely. Hey do me a favorite. Can you just turn that mic towards you a little bit? Yeah, and no, just so it's like you're talking straight into it. Oh, perfect, perfect. Yeah. The MIC's are very they very sensitive. I just want to make sure everybody can hear you. Okay, no, that's uh yeah. And I always tell people too. The first time you go to Terminus, it's kind of like walking into another world, you know, especially when you go into that room. You know, well, the hallway is impressive, right because the last time i've Jenny and I were there for the open house, and I think at that point there was already some of your pictures that you had take and that were that were put up and it was like, wow, this is really cool.

Speaker 8: Yes, Eleanor has allowed me to keep my art up there like seven yeah, yeah, and which I am willing to share. But I'm the rock Star member and as a right now, I think I'm might be the only artist artist, but I do believe she has another rock so I member. Now I'm not sure what his medium is. But I started painting a year and a half ago, and before that was all pencil and I finally was like, you know what, I'm going to try this out, and all of a sudden, I just started painting everything and I absolutely love it.

Speaker 8: And I just keep building my art into every If it interested me, I'm going to do it. So I just now I got into taking pictures.

Speaker 7: Wait, so did the did the photography come later?

Speaker 3: That?

Speaker 7: Like? What what came first? In terms of your of your creating art?

Speaker 8: So I've always done pencil, drawing, pencil and paper like you will never take that away from me. Okay, I can bring it everywhere. I can create what I want with that in any kind of setting. And then I started a little bit photography, but not as much as I've been doing now. Okay, I've always done crafting. And then just like I said a year and a half ago, I started really painting like I did paintings, but I never wanted to show anybody really Yeah, and then I had, like, you have that event in your life that either pulls you down brings you up.

Speaker 8: Mine pulled me down and I refused to sit down and refuse to lay down.

Speaker 9: So I made it bring me up.

Speaker 8: And people started seeing it and they were like, no, we got to get we got to get this out, We got to get this out.

Speaker 9: And I was like what. I was like, no, no, no no.

Speaker 8: And my boyfriend Eddie set up my Facebook page and my Instagram page for me and just started putting my art out there.

Speaker 7: Yeah. Something that we talk about a lot on the show is, in fact, it came up with my previous guest, Jamie Higgs. Uh is you know, using art, whether it be visual art or music or whatever art it is that you're creating using it is really sort of a form of therapy and working through things because sometimes it's hard, especially and Jamie and I talked about this specifically. Sometimes it's hard, especially when you're dealing with you know, major life events or any kind of trauma, you know, to to talk about that stuff and to be able to emote everything that you're dealing with.

Speaker 7: But using art as a way to kind of channel that and that that expression and working through, working through your feelings and then what winds up happening is not only is it great therapy for you, but it also is something that other people can connect with. So it's a way of you help yourself and you also wind up helping other people too. Well.

Speaker 8: Mine wasn't. Mine wasn't so much for therapy For me. It was getting people to understand how I felt.

Speaker 7: Sure, sure it was because being able to communicate that.

Speaker 9: Yeah, and that's how I communicate.

Speaker 8: I'm not very good with words, as you can hear now, but through my art, I can express myself. I can tell tell how you can feel it. You can see how I'm feeling or what I'm trying to say versus me actually trying to say it. Because I talk NonStop I'm Adhd, So Nope, everybody kind of tunes me out sometimes.

Speaker 7: The Adhd. Does that play a role in your art? Do you think? Oh, definitely, there's a specific reason. I'm curious about that. So, I don't know if you're familiar with doctor Kevin. He's from Nashua, doctor Kevin ross Emory. I think Eleanor, Yeah, Eleanor knows him. I've known doctor Kevin for like twenty years and he's amazing. But he's done a lot of work in add adhd. He's written some books. One of the books he's written about it is called Managing the Gift, and the premise of the book is, look, if this is something that you have or maybe your child has, this is not but this is not a disorder.

Speaker 7: This is not a bad thing. This is not something you have to figure out how to overcome. This is something you should use because people with this are creative and and there's a there's a lot of things if you use it correctly. There are a lot of things about ad d adhd. That's that's how he puts it, that that can actually be very helpful and useful to you and accomplishing things. And also and specifically in being creative.

Speaker 8: Oh, definitely, like you can my friend's six minds combined. You can ask him. You give me one idea, I'll give you twenty. And it's why you're trying to solve one thing. I've already solved it. I'm working on something else. And it's my hyper focus. Yes, what calms me down. It just kind of centers me. My mom calls it. He gets the world and I just get stuck in it sometimes though that I forget everything else.

Speaker 7: Really.

Speaker 9: Yeah, so it's.

Speaker 7: Gonna be hyper focusing. That's another thing that comes with it. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 9: It's got its curses and it's got its blessings.

Speaker 7: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I mean I think I have a little bit of that myself because I tend to I can really kind of hyper focus on things. And I remember doctor Kevin and I having a conversation about it and he said, yeah, Matt, you've definitely got some You've got some of these traits.

Speaker 8: In the eighties, nobody was diagnosed with that. We were just kids and we were hyper and right watch and we got set next to the teacher.

Speaker 7: Yeah exactly exactly. So do you ever is it ever a challenge in terms of you know, because you're using your art to try to communicate things to people that are not easy to communicate with words. Does that generally is that pretty easy for you to express yourself that way or do you ever run into challenges with that where maybe you create art that is not that you feel is not adequately portraying what it is that you're trying to get across.

Speaker 8: When I do pretty pictures, yeah, I can create the most beautiful, pretty flowers and everything like that and like how I'm feeling in that moment, but you look at it and it's it To me personally, it just feels generic. And my art sometimes gets a little darkish, I guess, And it's not for everybody, but the ones that do understand it and can feel it, there's there's like a group for that. But I can create art for all types of groups, sure, I just and I also try to fit it into what I'm doing. Like New Hampshire Underground Terminus they did the punk rock Masquerade and I was like, oh my gosh, I have to do this, So I created masks in case people didn't bring their own, they could purchase some.

Speaker 8: And I don't sell any of my art for expensive prices because I feel I want my art to go out and it create, it just builds something in me to create more when somebody wants to buy my art. And so I created like a couple of them, and then I did a couple more, and then I ended up like fifty of them and I have five left.

Speaker 9: So it was like amazing.

Speaker 8: And then I went on to the next show she did and I created what was it like zombie boxes? Will you survivor will you die? Like pick your fate? And I had things inside them, so.

Speaker 9: Like I loved.

Speaker 8: Just creating things for things and it just I don't know, my brain just starts like firing off and I can't stop.

Speaker 7: Yeah. Yeah, I'm always amazed at you know, Jenny, she makes an incredible painting, you know, and it's uh and you know, my brain is not Like I have no in terms of visual art. I have no artistic ability whatsoever. You know, Like if you asked me to draw a person, I could draw you a stick figure. That's a best set. I'm very comfortable with acknowledging my lack of ability in that area, you know. I mean I'm artistic in other ways, like I'm a musician, I can create music and whatnot, but I can't create any kind of visual art at all.

Speaker 7: I hate it so much. So I was aware of this from a very young age. When I was a kid, I hated art class. I went to Saint John's Regional and Conquered from grade two to grade eight, and these art teachers would come in like once a week or once every other week. It seemed like it wasn't very consistent, but and I would feel like, like me and probably a couple of the other kids in the class to have about thirty kids, but I really felt this. I felt like they were trying to force me to be artistic in a way that was not possible.

Speaker 7: I even have a very specific memory of this. We're painting. We're using watercolors or something to paint this stuff, and I remember just sitting there at one point I remember this. This memory sticks with me. I was in grade school. I don't remember what grade, but I'm sitting there trying to paint this picture. And at a certain point, I'm just painting the same tree over and over. I'm just going over and over because I'm trying to look busy at that point, because I got to look like I'm doing something and then the art teacher actually comes over and says to me, Matt, you're just painting the same tree over and over.

Speaker 7: And I'm like, oh, that didn't work, you know what I mean. But I but I recognize that in myself pretty young, I have no ability that in that zone. So I always marvel at people who do, because, you know, I look at Jenny's paintings, it's like, how did you do that? Like, because my brain can't, you know what I mean. Or Jenny makes this incredible macroma and I'm like, my brain can't do the math because it's geometry.

Speaker 8: I've tried macromay and I can do plant hangers. Yeah, but what she does there's like it's too much counting and it's wild.

Speaker 9: Yeah, I've tried it. It's fun.

Speaker 8: It's kind of you know, just sit there, nothing to do and you can create something.

Speaker 7: But yeah, yeah, and she'll and she'll tell you she's not good at math, but clearly, on a subconscious level, she's very good at geometry because you have to be to do that, and she does it. It looks almost effortless that when she does it, she'll she'll make stuff. During the show, she'll be she's not here today because she's got an event, but you know, she'll be sitting over there just making stuff. And then at the end of the show she says, Oh, look what I made. It's like, how it's incredible.

Speaker 3: Yeah.

Speaker 9: I actually I failed art class, did you.

Speaker 8: Yeah, like the in grade school, I got a's in it, and then towards high school, junior high, high school, I started failing. And it was because they were like they, like you said they want. They were like forcing you to do certain things. Yeah, and then I would do it and They're like, you didn't do it this way. I'm like, I'm not that artist. I can't do that right, Like I put the effort in. I did what I could do. Or they're like there's too much. I'm like, I don't I want all that there? Right, they're not enough there.

Speaker 8: I'm like I don't want anything there, and they would get frustrated with me, and I was just I didn't care. I'm like, I'm going to create art, yeah, and that's what I do. I tried playing the clarinet in sixth grade. My mom told me to stick with the pencils.

Speaker 9: I was my family's musically inclined.

Speaker 7: Okay.

Speaker 8: My uncle played in a band when I was ten, so like early nineties.

Speaker 9: It was the Wounded Hearts. He was the drummer.

Speaker 7: Okay.

Speaker 9: He was actually the first band I ever did art for.

Speaker 7: Oh no kidding.

Speaker 9: He asked me to.

Speaker 8: Create something for their band T shirt or something like that, and it was a handrew. I drew a hand holding an atomic heart and it was leading and they didn't, I guess go on or something happened. I'm not really sure. I was sure I was ten, and then I've forgotten about it for all these years. And then the next one I started doing art or was six months combined, and from there I've done Temple Mountain, I did photography for Esse Jesse Rustin.

Speaker 7: And Jesse was here last week.

Speaker 8: Yeah, and then I did the album cover for Lacey who am I? Yes, yes, yeah, I'm hoping to continue to do more like that for other bands, especially the newer bands, like I want them not to use AI, like please, you guys don't use AI to find the artists like myself, And there's so many of us out there that are like, I got nothing to do and I don't charge, Like I said, I don't charge a lot, especially.

Speaker 9: For new bands.

Speaker 7: Sure, sure, because all.

Speaker 9: Of us are starting out. So who the heck has all that money?

Speaker 7: Right? Right? If you're just joining us a crafty k is that the right thing? And your Facebook handle my art by KF, my art by KF. I have a mental block one.

Speaker 8: Well it's my first and it's my initials. Okay, So everything I do in my art instead of writing KF, I do a heart with a K on it.

Speaker 7: Okay.

Speaker 9: That way it kind of combines everything together.

Speaker 7: Okay, okay, and KF chaotic photography right, Yes, so you spelled photography with an F. So for people looking for you online, where's the best way for people to find you online?

Speaker 9: I use Facebook more than I do Instagram.

Speaker 7: Okay.

Speaker 8: Instagram only allows you to post so many pictures at a time, but Facebook I can load one hundred and something on there.

Speaker 7: Yeah. Yeah, so you mentioned AI. This is another subject that comes up all the time on the show, whether it's whether it's about visual art or certainly about music.

Speaker 7: I'm really curious to explore that subject with you a little bit. I mean I mean what, like, like, what is what is it that you tell? So what do you tell? What do you tell musicians who you work with when you're when you're having that conversation with them, Uh, like, like, what what's kind of your pitch to say? Please don't use AI. I know it's tempting, but please don't do it. And here's why, Like what do you say AI?

Speaker 8: You can put in the words and you can describe what you want. AI will pop something up. Who's to say that's not going to be used for somebody else's description. It could be just a little bit of a different color. It could be used a little bit of different that. And yes, same thing with artists, but you don't have that freedom and openness of can we change.

Speaker 9: This a little bit? Can we change that a little bit?

Speaker 8: Can we tweak this? Can we tweak that? Can we add in this? Can we take this out?

Speaker 7: Yeah?

Speaker 8: Because you're trying to get a computer to understan stand what.

Speaker 9: You want and that doesn't always happen.

Speaker 8: Yeah, So then you're just like, you know whatever, we're just going to go with it and you're not totally happy with it.

Speaker 9: But with me, I can.

Speaker 8: Take I can take an eraser out and just yep, I'll take that right out right, I'll move this and we can choose the colors you want. We can choose the form like painting, pencil, pen photography. You have more options than you do with AI. I mean AI is great to use for some things, sure, but not for everything.

Speaker 7: Right right, yeah, I mean my own experience with it, I can tell you it's hard to get it to understand sometimes exactly what it is that you're looking for. It is great for some things, but when it comes to graphics, when it comes to images, actually, my first time trying to make any kind of an image. We had done we had done a segment on the show about I don't know if you follow it. There hasn't been any new news on it, but the Daryl Hall versus John Oates lawsuit, that whole legal drama. We had done a segment on the show about it, and I tried to get Dolly three to create I needed a YouTube thumbnail and I wanted an image of Daryl Hall and John Oates in a boxing ring and there and they're boxing.

Speaker 7: I thought that would be funny. And this was my first time trying to create a graphic using AI, and it actually wouldn't do it. And I guess it's got a rule about putting celebrities and violent situations or that was because it actually told me why it couldn't do it.

Speaker 9: And see me, I don't have I don't have any restrictions.

Speaker 7: Right exactly exactly. Yeah, what ended up happening was so I couldn't do the boxing thing, and I kept working with it and trying to get it to compromise with me. So what I finally came up with was it it created and I didn't even ask it to do this. Interestingly, it didn't offer to give this to me specifically, but it offered me an alternative. But I went ahead and created the alternative it was offering me, which was Daryl Hall and John Oh, it's playing chess. And then it said you know, because it said I can't give you the boxing, but I can give you this, and it just created it because like, oh that's interesting.

Speaker 7: And then I asked it, can you put angry faces on them? Make them look angry? That was willing to do, and so that's what it came out with. They're they're at a chess board and they look mad at each other.

Speaker 8: It's a peaceful competitive sport, right, right.

Speaker 7: So it was willing to do the angry faces and it kind of looks like them, it doesn't exactly look like them.

Speaker 8: But yeah, well like and my other thing, like I said earlier, is you give me one you can have that one idea, and my brain will just start popping things and I'm.

Speaker 9: Like, well, what if you did? What if this? What if that?

Speaker 8: Or what do you think about this? And he starts getting other people's brains going in there. Sure like oh, and then they start getting a bunch of ideas. Yeah, it happens all the time in my little circle.

Speaker 7: Yeah, no doubt, no doubt. So you've done a lot of work with six minds combined, right, Yes, that's because we were talking off air about you know, what should we play for music? Coming into the segment. That's my favorite song of his. I love Yeah, I love that. The we had we had Rick on the show. It's probably more than a year ago. Now it all becomes a blur. But I remember telling him too, I said that that song, that's one of those songs that after I heard it, I would wake up with it playing in my brain because I always, like a lot of us, you know, when I wake up in the morning, there's always a song playing in my mind, and uh, you know, I have that little wake up playlist and that was that was the first one I would hear for a long time.

Speaker 7: I would just wake up in the morning and here, uh, you know that you got this.

Speaker 8: It gets stuck in my head when somebody says they can't do something. Yeah, And then all of a sudden, I started singing.

Speaker 7: Yeah, yeah, so you've You've done a lot of work.

Speaker 8: With him, right, Yes, I've known him since I was fourteen fifteen, Yeah, and he started becoming six minds combined, and.

Speaker 9: He asked to create.

Speaker 8: Like I've created a few things. I created his album cover for him. Okay, the front and the back Okay, the back of it is just his mind exploding with all the all the songs, okay, and the front was his idea, and I took what he gave me for what his image was, and I put it into a painting. I've done his new logo, which is going to be coming out, and I'm not sure if I was supposed to tell anybody that I love you.

Speaker 9: I'm sorry.

Speaker 7: A little teaser there, that's good.

Speaker 9: There's a movie.

Speaker 7: Do we know when? Do we have an ETA on the new logo? My drop?

Speaker 8: I'm not sure yet I do know he's got some new merchandise coming out. He also will be having a new video or champion that I'm working I'm helping work on excellent and it's gonna be something me and him I had, like we always talked about making a comic book together. Really yes, and it kind of goes along those lines a little bit. I helped him with running through a mansion. I helped video film it. That's not the right word, but me and Eleanor we both did that. They put it together. I had this after hearing that song.

Speaker 8: It was like again just sparks flying in my head and you know what, and then we we should do this in the mansion. And then when we went to the mansion, we were not allowed to videotape. We even got like followed to like like towards again like on the grounds. There was like some security guy walking behind us.

Speaker 7: Well, so so I'm really curious about this. So what So you went to a mansion, did you like? Where? Like what mansion?

Speaker 9: The Breaker House?

Speaker 7: Where's that rd Island?

Speaker 8: Okay, So we went down there and that place was huge. I would not want to ever have to clean it.

Speaker 7: So you went there with the intention so is that it's hard to get something open to the public.

Speaker 8: Yes, I mean you you pay a fee to visit it. Okay, you could take photography, but you couldn't videotape anything use it for like social media things like that.

Speaker 7: Did you did you know that going in or like not.

Speaker 9: Until we got there?

Speaker 8: Okay, but we did like get some good shots like small little here and there.

Speaker 7: So how did you How did you do it? Like did you have to do it kind of covertly or how did how does that work? Yeah?

Speaker 9: I mean there were some things that I was like, dude, do it now?

Speaker 7: Yeah?

Speaker 8: Yeah, But so that idea kind of went just like that. I was like, you know what, everybody's mansion is their home.

Speaker 9: It's there.

Speaker 8: It's so I was like, how about we do it in a house. Like a person's mansion is their home. It doesn't have to be an actual mansion, right right, Like their mansion is their home where they live. And it it ended up working out, which was amazing.

Speaker 7: Yeah. Yeah, oh interesting. What now what did you end up doing with the stuff that you took in the actual mansion in Rhode Island? Anything?

Speaker 8: There's some clips of it in the in the video what we could use. That wasn't so much like showing anything interesting.

Speaker 7: Yeah, yeah, but it was.

Speaker 9: It was fun.

Speaker 8: Yeah, try to be sneaky into it, like we were breaking the law.

Speaker 7: Right right, Hey, it's all rock and roll, right do you so?

Speaker 9: Do you do a lot of album covers or I?

Speaker 8: After I did six Months Combined, Temple Mountain reached out to me and I.

Speaker 7: Did, Yeah, I love Eric. Yeah.

Speaker 9: I did his album cover for Lonely.

Speaker 8: He sent me a clip of it and immediately I was like, I got this and it's the picture of a guy sitting on a bench with a woman's face up in kind of like the clouds, and he's just sitting there like kind of just defeated, sad, you know, Lonely. And then after that, Jesse Rustin asked me to do some work for him and he wanted photography, so we went to his studio and did photography there. And then after that was who Am I and Thrax So I did their album cover for Hot Wax and.

Speaker 9: She gave me the color scheme.

Speaker 8: And I was sitting there and I was trying to think of things to do, and I took an image of Racks on the drums and Lacy on the keyboard and then her why had done a record, So I took the record and then I made it look like it was melting wax coming down and creating them. Yeah, it's cool created them and it's amazing to see that painting and the color of lights that Placy does. It changes the colors on the painting.

Speaker 9: It's so trippy. It's awesome.

Speaker 7: That must be exciting too, to have anup when you have an opportunity to work with somebody who is very visual, you know obviously what what who I am and thracks what they're doing. It's very visual, right, So to be able to that must be that just must be fun it.

Speaker 8: I love it like I love music, I love art.

Speaker 9: I I do like people.

Speaker 8: Not all people, sure, the world the way the world is, but it's I love the open creativity, the the compassion, the encouragement. Like nobody's trying to compete with each other, and when there's people trying to compete with me, I'm like why, I'm like, you do what you do.

Speaker 9: I'm going to do what I do.

Speaker 8: Like I don't call myself anything other than an artist, and if I see something I want to do, I'm going to try to do it. And I did that even in all my jobs. I delivered pizza, I worked at daycares, I sold luggage, I worked for a sewer company. Yeah, I like, and now I've been in pharmacy for twenty two years. But it's because there's also a whole lot of how does that work? What do you do there? And it's the same thing with my art. I have no idea how to paint. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I wonder if this will work?

Speaker 9: How do I do this?

Speaker 8: And then it Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. And there are some canvases. Let me tell you, there is a lot of layers of paint, lots of it because if I don't like it, I just paint over it and start to Yeah.

Speaker 7: And now, what do you mean about like like people trying to compete with with you? Like what like is it is it competitive in terms of you know, like doing doing artwork for musicians? Is that No?

Speaker 8: I think competitive is like You're always going to have that. Like it's just like a job you go in for your interview, you get hired or you don't get hired. That part's not the competitive part. It's when people start talking bad about your art or about how you do your art really or like oh, like they did that, Like I don't like that. If you don't like it, then just do what we've always been told is if you ain't got nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all. Like I'm not going to know any different.

Speaker 8: But when you start saying bad things about somebody's art instead of encouraging them to do or do better, that just brings that person down. They don't want to create the art, and then they suppress.

Speaker 7: Is that is that like like other artists like criticizing your process or something.

Speaker 9: I mean, I don't mind criticism whatsoever.

Speaker 7: Sure, constructive criticism is exactly fine.

Speaker 8: But when you're just like downing somebody because of what they do or how they do it or what they used to do it, or you know, anything like that, it's just it does take. It takes a little bit from you and it kind of like ouch, like what did I do? And then at the same time, I'm the type of person that's I've doubt narcissists, and I'm like the best way to deal with somebody like that, I'm gonna keep doing what I do with a smile at my face and I'm just gonna do it better, So like, bring it, but I'd rather not the negativity of things like that around me.

Speaker 9: So like musicians playing and somebody's.

Speaker 8: Like, ugh, like you might not like it, but don't tell them, right if you have some constructive criticism on it, like hey, I didn't really like that because and then say.

Speaker 9: Why yeah, yeah, don't just like I don't like that, right.

Speaker 8: Well, it's like you just it's like watching the show and you get all the way to the end and then it's a cliffhanger.

Speaker 9: And you're like, wait, wait, what happened? What happened? And then you never know.

Speaker 8: Right, it's the same way of going I don't like it, Why tell me like it?

Speaker 7: Right?

Speaker 8: Because I might create something you don't like, but tomorrow might create something you love.

Speaker 7: Right, Yeah, exactly exactly if you are just showing us we have a crafty k from Chaotic Photography and my art by KF that I get it right. Cool, I'm glad I got it right. Sometimes I worry I'm suffering from adult onset dyslexia. But no, and we're having a great conversation today about art and about you know, working with musicians. Is there anyone you've worked with who who presented a unique challenge in terms of where it was maybe difficult to find the right aesthetic for what they're doing, maybe for their album cover or I mean, I don't mean that in a bad way, you know, but but just is there anyone you've worked with who it was it was it took a little more to kind of figure out where to go with it.

Speaker 9: I did have somebody come message me.

Speaker 8: About Creed about what they want for their album cover, and I asked, they want like a certain like background, seeing like an apocalypse kind of thing, and I was like, yeah, I was like I can do that.

Speaker 9: Like what kind of medium do you want? They wanted like a photography.

Speaker 8: That's more difficult because you're not going to get the right colors, you're not going to get the right kind of visual.

Speaker 9: And also talking.

Speaker 8: Through Texas so hard, oh yeah, because it's hard to understand, like see their thought process, and I haven't.

Speaker 9: Like I did send a few things and it just wasn't there. So he's just moved on, I believe, to somebody else that might be able to do it, because.

Speaker 8: I wasn't able to. But I at least offered a few things. It was almost like like I said, an interview.

Speaker 7: Yeah, yeah, well that can be hard to write if somebody because somebody might have an idea, I might have a vision in their mind, but they can't find the right words to communicate it, you know.

Speaker 8: And that's what's my that's what I do with my art. Yeah, I can't think of certain words, Yeah, the correct words to say. I do it through my art and when someone's trying to tell me something because they can see it, but they can't get it into words, but they don't have the ability to put it on canvas or paper either, So like I can understand that being the most frustrating thing.

Speaker 7: Yeah, yeah, yeah, like uh, you know, like like me, someone who has no visual artistic ability. If I, you know, if I'm trying to communicate to somebody, like sometimes I don't know the like I don't know the vocabulary of you know, for what I'm trying to tell them that I want, you know, just to see artistically. Yeah, that can be that can be tricky. Now, how does it work in terms of you coming to work with some of these artists? Do they approach you? Do you approach them, does it depend?

Speaker 8: So after I take after I take photos of them when they're playing, I show them a few of them that I have done, and I send that. I send them the photos and the only thing I ask for for those is photo credit.

Speaker 7: Yeah.

Speaker 9: Yeah, And I also offer if you need any artistic guidance or any work done, anything like that, just reach out to me and we can see what we can work out.

Speaker 7: Yeah.

Speaker 9: So I don't push it, yeah, like either because I don't like I don't like. I don't like those pushy people like you know, I can do this. I can do this like buy myself by my stuff right right, Like I hate selling my own stuff. I am not good at it whatsoever.

Speaker 7: Well, the interesting thing, though, is for what you do, you kind of you really have an advantage in that you can you can show them what what you can do right up front, right like if you're if you're taking pictures, and you can show them, look, these are some photos I took of your live performance or whatever it was. You know, then they see they can see right off, right off the bat that you're legit. You obviously know what you're doing because you take great pictures.

Speaker 8: And I have my art hanging up in the hallway exactly.

Speaker 7: Yeah.

Speaker 8: Yes, New Hampshire Underground and Terminus has been like it's They've been a blessing. Eleanor has helped me in so many ways this past year and it's.

Speaker 9: Only been a year. Yeah, I feel like I've known.

Speaker 7: Her for ever really, Yeah.

Speaker 8: And she's helped me more ways than she can imagine. Like she's always like, what do you Because I don't care about status, I don't I don't care about any of that, and she's like, what do you? I'm like, you what you're doing for me? And they let me put so much art up and all over there and I love it and I appreciate it so much because of my creativity. I'm like, oh, there's blank space.

Speaker 9: On that wall.

Speaker 7: No, that's that's amazing. When you're taking pictures of like say you're taking pictures of someone performing live, is there is there kind of a method to that, I mean, or are you just like, oh this this would make a good shot, I'm going to take this picture, or I mean, do you have a strategy for that or do you just kind of do it instinctively or I just.

Speaker 8: Do it instinctively, like kind of like candid. Yeah, they I tell them. I tell them all, don't look at me. I'm not there, like I do, cross that green line, step on me, step over me, just keep playing. Sure, I'm going to get the shot, but you need to continue to play right. And I do apologize to people out there that when I'm in their shot, because I'm sure there's like some shots that people like. I like getting back to where the drummer is and getting photos of the crowd because the crowd doesn't get to see what the band sees, right, And then I'm taking pictures of the band of what the crowd sees that the band doesn't get to see.

Speaker 7: I love those personal like, I love those kind of pictures. Yeah.

Speaker 8: I like seeing both sides, and sometimes like seeing the crowd. I like to show them because sometimes they're just like standing there sure and I'm like, hey, it's just some other thing.

Speaker 7: Yeah yeah, but.

Speaker 8: It just shows how many people like you get to see both sides.

Speaker 9: So it's both sides of the story.

Speaker 7: Yeah, yeah, that's yeah, that's a great way of putting it. When you when you tell somebody, hey, I need a candid shot, don't don't look at me, just do what you're doing. Do some people struggle with that? Yes, I expected yeah.

Speaker 8: They do, because like they'll look at me and smile. But six Minds Combined is the only one that I have allowed to We have a he's going to pause and I got to get the shot because he moves so much. Okay, yeah, and sometimes like his I'll go to get that great shot in his hand, or he moves his face and he I'm like, so we have like these like make eye contact and he kind of pauses just like his movement so I can get the shot.

Speaker 7: Okay, okay, yeah.

Speaker 9: Because I'm like, dude, I'm like, I've raised so many photos.

Speaker 7: But it's cool that you have that understanding with him and he gets it obviously, and he's able to accommodate that and you're able to work together that way. That's uh, that's great. Oh, I want to make sure we don't forget this. You showed me something off air, a book, and we do have for those For those watching online, you'll be able to see this because she's holding it up and if you're if you're just listening, you know, radio is theater of the mind. You'll have to imagine this. But but this is really cool.

Speaker 7: Okay, So tell us what you've got in your hand there.

Speaker 9: So this was a book.

Speaker 8: It's called Kaw c Aw by Clay hurt Bus. I am really sorry Clay if I just butchered. So back in the early two thousands, we worked together and he was writing a book and he's written several and he asked me if I would do some artwork for him, and I was like yeah. I was like that would be awesome, and he's gonna publish it and everything, and he had some medical issues and I'm not sure what happened in between all the time that I've seen him to the time we published it, because he had moved, okay, and I finally we finally contacted each other again through Facebook just recently, and and he published the book last last year in twenty twenty four.

Speaker 8: In the book, because he didn't know my last name, he didn't put my name in there as an illustrator. But when you look up online about the book, it says my name as the illustrator. But when he had found me on Facebook, my name was my name and my daughter's name. Okay, so the illustration name is Keagan Lily. Oh, so I think that is going forward might be my new illustration name.

Speaker 7: Oh that's cool.

Speaker 8: But the book is in English and every single language you can think of on Facebook. Wow, it's Chinese. This one's English and Chinese and it's double sided.

Speaker 3: But my.

Speaker 8: Art at it's old art from before it kind of got a little more talented. But it's it's amazing that he saved him. Yeah, and like my art is international wild and just seeing it in a book, I was like, I've always wanted to be an illustrator of children's books and stuff like that, but it was it's really.

Speaker 9: An awesome feeling to that's crazy.

Speaker 8: Everything that I have wanted and everything I'm working for actually getting there. And I got to thank Eddie for a lot of it, because if he didn't push me to open my Facebook, like he just supports me a lot, especially with my photography, Like we'll be at the show together and then all of a sudden running off to take photos and he sits there and watches me paint for hours, create whatever I'm creating it, but he he supports me, doesn't try to be like you're painting.

Speaker 7: Again, right right?

Speaker 8: And I have gotten paint on like so many things, even our own even our own comforter and really I paint like I paint on me now.

Speaker 9: But he supports me in it, and I love him that.

Speaker 7: Yeah, that's wonderful. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, no, it's so important to have a creative partner for for people watching on video. Why don't you hold that up one more time? Yeah, so people can see it? And then and where can people get that book?

Speaker 9: Facebook? I mean not Facebook, Amazon.

Speaker 7: Amazon, a w And did he did he inscribe that for you too? Did he write something inside of it?

Speaker 8: Because I saw he said, Keagan, thanks for the beautiful artwork.

Speaker 7: Very nice. That is so cool and so that was a surprise right when that came out.

Speaker 8: Yeah, because he said I published the book, and I was like, no way, And so I looked it up and he sent them. I bought one prior to him sending it to me. My mom's like I want that, Like you can have it. He's sending me one, and he sent me two of.

Speaker 9: Them, hardcover. In the soft cover yeah.

Speaker 8: The other one's English and Swedish kidding, and he wrote in both of them. But it was amazing and it's so weird to see my artwork in there because I remember doing it and just the style of it.

Speaker 9: I'm like, yeah, that's.

Speaker 7: Totally that's extremely cool. So what's kind of your your long term trajectory do you think or do you know, like do you want to do you wanna do you have like a focus like like is it is it doing artwork for for album covers? Is it photography? Is it?

Speaker 9: Do you know just doing art?

Speaker 7: Ye? See where it.

Speaker 9: I don't want it to be a job. I love doing art.

Speaker 8: I don't want it to become a job because really, if you think about it, if that's where you're gonna go.

Speaker 9: I gotta go do this. I gotta go do this.

Speaker 8: Like you don't want to do it because you have to. Yeah, I want I do it because I want to do it because I have that freedom of it's my like, it's my getaway, my break, it's.

Speaker 9: My Higgins world.

Speaker 8: But it's the minute it becomes a job, I'm like, I'm not interested anymore and I want to just be able to do it or don't do it right. And I mean I loved I love doing it, So don't get me wrong. I'm not going to be like I don't want to do that. But if there is something that I'm just I'm just not in the mood for it, or I don't have the time. I want to be able to say I'm sorry, I don't have the time to do this. And then but I know other artists because I met some amazing artists.

Speaker 7: Oh I can imagine.

Speaker 8: Yeah, Lily's amazing, and I've met Chelsea, she's an amazing photographer. And there's so many options, especially meeting all through New Hampshire Underground. They have Andrea and Eleanor has brought so many of us together, Like I finally found like a group I can relate to and belong to and like feel comfortable and not like at one of those fancy, like little cliche art galleryes.

Speaker 7: Yeah.

Speaker 8: Yeah, and everyone's kind of like snubbing you. And because I mean obviously I don't dress like I belong in there. I paint on my own pants.

Speaker 7: Yeah yeah, Jenny had her art hanging there at one point, which was really cool. And and actually, you know I mentioned earlier we had Jesse Rutstein along with Caleb Die Caleb Dyer here on the show last week, and we met Jesse at Terminus during the open house.

Speaker 9: Yes, he actually just played last weekend.

Speaker 7: Oh right, right, yeah, after Yeah, after the it was the same same weekend as the interview. Yeah yeah, so yeah, No, they've done They've done a wonderful job there, And you're right bringing people together absolutely absolutely so. Now if somebody, you know, because a lot of musicians listen to the show, a lot of industry people, if somebody wants to work with you, like, what's the best way for them to reach out to you?

Speaker 8: This message me on Facebook? Yeah, like through Facebook Messenger. Yeah, I'm really horrible about my email, which I try not to be. But my email addresses on my business cards. But it also has my Instagram and my Facebook on there.

Speaker 7: Okay, and how do they find you on Facebook?

Speaker 3: Again?

Speaker 9: But my art by kf All one word okay.

Speaker 8: And then it's got a picture of a pink and black lily, which I put that on my business card.

Speaker 7: For my daughter. Oh okay.

Speaker 8: It's a show her that it doesn't matter when you start, you can do whatever you want to do.

Speaker 9: You can create things.

Speaker 7: Yeah. No, I think that's really cool.

Speaker 8: Even she's benefited. Her first concert was Green Jello, Yes.

Speaker 7: Jelly at at Terminus. Yes.

Speaker 8: She passed kindergarten screening and she got to go through a pool.

Speaker 7: Nice. Yeah, that was quite a night. Yeah, that all happened because Green Jelly or Jello, I never know which to call him. Uh they had been on the show and then uh Bill was talking to Jenny about you know, where can we play in New Hampshire when we come back through And then Jenny connected with Eleanor and worked on that and getting that all booked and that was a lot of fun. Although they when they were on the show that day, so it's probably one of my most favorite interviews ever, but also the most nerve wracking.

Speaker 7: I think I hit the dump button because we're on an eight second delay in case anything, you know. I think I hit the dump button five times during during that, and the whole time I'm just sit here like, don't get me fired, don't get me fired.

Speaker 8: I'm being surprised by my own self because the F bomb is like I'm Irish. Yeah, it's the word like ye in Ireland. Yeah, so it's natural, and I'm like, don't swear.

Speaker 7: No, You've You've done great well. The thing is, though, that the trick is to not not worry about and overthink it because so many people they come on the show and they're like, oh, I hope. I don't swear. Oh, but I don't swear. And it's the people who worry about it, you know, they worry about it and then then it ends up being fine. But like I tell everybody, we're on an eight second delay, so if the worst happens, I can catch it. But uh, but no, I think. I think when when those guys were on the show, I think I hit the dump button five times total.

Speaker 7: And it wasn't all swears. A couple you know, there might have been a drug reference. I was uncomfortable with, you know, just anything it went in doubt, I reached for the dump.

Speaker 8: Slim had a really big effect on Lily, like she wanted she had a Yuku Leley but like she wanted to be a rock jammer.

Speaker 7: Oh that's cool.

Speaker 8: She would have me take it. She had me take a video and then send it to her. Yeah, And it was It's cute because Slim ended up sending her a video thing like happy Birthday to her.

Speaker 9: It was like.

Speaker 8: Really great, Like it's just showing that these other artists inspire other people. Yes, doesn't matter what age group. Yeah, and Slim was afraid, like she would scare Lily at the show. Oh no kidding, And because Lily was kind of like, oh, what are you wearing? Yeah, and that was her biggest thing. Oh wow, wasn't afraid of her, but she's like, uh, what are you wearing? And then after that she's like, I want to be like her, I want to be a rock star.

Speaker 9: I was like, all right, go for it, kid.

Speaker 7: Oh wow, Oh that's cool, that's very cool.

Speaker 8: Now she's on to now she wants to be a Samurais or whatever thing.

Speaker 7: Okay, fair enough, well, Kegan crafty k, thank you so much. This has been wonderful.

Speaker 3: Thank you.

Speaker 7: We'll definitely do it again in the future. And uh, I think we should probably close out with who I Am track from Hot Wax. I was thinking maybe glow to end the segment, and thank you everyone who joined us to doaw on the show. Of course, Jamie Higgs in the second hour and in the first hour we had three times seven both via WhatsApp all the way from the UK. And if you missed any part of today's show, it will be up in just a little bit at wmnhradio dot org and at my website Matt Connorton dot com.

Speaker 7: Jenny is not here today, but she is at an event or on her way to an event, going on and conquered. So make sure to keep up with everything she's doing. Go to Jencoffee dot com. She's doing a lot of great activism. I'm so proud of her. And if you want to keep up with everything I'm doing, you can go to Matt connorton dot com. And this is SummerSlam weekend, by the way, So keep an eye on your social media because at some point Eric Pilcher and I are going to do a live stream of Tough Bumps, probably tonight's night one of SummerSlam.

Speaker 7: So we'll probably go live after that and talk about what we saw on what happened and all that good stuff, and we might do another one tomorrow. We'll see. So there's a lot going on, and so please just just keep an eye on the socials and you'll be able to see it all. Let's see, so I think, yeah, so we'll end with this, We'll end with glow. This is from who I Am and Trax and their new release called Hot Wax and Crafty K. Thank you again, thank you, and oh and if you miss any part of today's so it'll be up in just a little bit at wm NS radio dot org at my website Matt Connorton dot com, and we'll talk at you all a little bit later.

Speaker 7: Bye, everybody.

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Speaker 7: Let me go on.

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