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Highlighting the voices of our varrios, famiilias, and community.
Innovators and creators share stories of how they are changing the way that we create and reimagine in music, art, live events, virtual events, video, film, education, sciences, and social innovation. Interviewed by long-time change agent and interviewer Dr. Gigi Louisa Johnson, guests discuss their journeys of how they became passionate about innovation and transform various creative and social change sectors.
Daniel Santos speaks on what does it mean for San Jose to have lifted the ban on cruising.
Peter Ortiz shares his journey which led him to run for San Jose City Council - District 5. Unlike traditional politicians, Ortiz comes from a system-impacted, single-mother home, influencing his mission to ensure East San Jose has proper representation and the adequate resources needed to flourish.By Varrio Voices
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Creative Innovators with Gigi Johnson
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Architecture, Mars, and VR . . . with Alfredo Muñoz
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Questions: How do we design for extreme conditions and resource challenges? Is that for Mars or Earth? Guest: Alfredo Muñoz, Architect; Founder; Onteco; Founder, ABIBOO Studio; Chair for Memberships of the Technical Committee of Space Architecture at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Digital twins? Space architecture? Alfredo M…
Question: How can you build a rich creative life based on referrals and going out on a limb? Guest: Darryl Hurs, Owner/CEO, Indie Week; Managing Director, Downtown Canada; Director, Market Development, Canada, CD Baby; Educator, Harris Institute In this episode, Darryl Hurs shares his journey from studying music, working in retail at HMV, and being…
Question: How do you connect independent artists and music business in India as a young woman? Guest: Ritnika Nayan, Managing Director, Downtown India; Owner: Music Gets Me High Ritnika Nayan shares stories about her passion: helping indie artists succeed and make money through various avenues that they might have been neglecting. She does that in …
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Varrio Voices
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Fighting to Keep San Jose's Berryessa Flea Market
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Roberto Gonzalez and Mariana Mejia, both President and Vice President of the Berryessa Flea Market Vendors Association come to share their efforts to ensure the longterm existance of la pulga. To learn more and be involved, follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sjfleamarketvendors/By Varrio Voices
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Creative Innovators with Gigi Johnson
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Building Campfires . . . with Arturo O'Farrill
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39:55
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Question: How can you build campfires, mixing music and social activism? Guest: Arturo O'Farrill, Founder, Artistic Director, Afro Latin Jazz Alliance; Professor, Global Jazz Studies, The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Arturo O'Farrill builds campfires and connects music, activism, and communit…
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Creative Innovators with Gigi Johnson
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Asking for What You Want . . . with Shirin Laor-Raz Salemnia
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Question: What can you do with focus on drive in both toys and STEM? And what can a persistent Shirin Salemnia do? Guest: Shirin Laor-Raz Salemnia, Founder and CEO, WhizGirls Academy and PlayWerks Shirin shares a passionate tale of drive, success with extreme persistence, and then designing new businesses to give back. She talks about her journey t…
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Creative Innovators with Gigi Johnson
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Making Sense Backwards . . . with Jeremy Yuille, Meld Studios
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48:50
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Question: How can life make better sense backwards? How can we weave together arts, spatial sound, architecture, and organizational change? Jeremy Yuille, with Meld Studios in Melbourne, Australia, works with organizations to transform how they work in the face of changing futures. His own past weaves through architecture, art, music, and spatial i…
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Creative Innovators with Gigi Johnson
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AR and Love of the Lab . . . with Ippolito Caradonna
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Question: How can we use Augmented Reality to enhance the practice of collaborative biology? Guest: Ippolito Caradonna, Co-Founder/CEO, Aug Lab; Director, HoloPractice Ippolito Caradonna mixes his love for biology with his background in film and passion for assisted research. He is co-founding Aug Lab, an AR software interface for laboratory produc…
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Leaning Out Over His Skis . . . .with Jeremy Sirota, CEO, Merlin
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Jeremy Sirota, Merlin Our first guest of Season 2 shares his tales of two loves: music and technology. His journey to Merlin includes early fandom in the Orange County punk rock scene, learning brand design in New York City while launching a mini fashion brand, and a road through technology law, Warner Music, and Facebook. He shares his adventures …
Welcome to Season 2 of Creative Innovators. We're going to have intriguing guests this season. Our question to you: Who inspires you? Who would you like to see on the show? We have great folks recording now as guests, and we'd like to include creative innovators who inspire our community. Please reach out to us and let us know at https://bit.ly/CI-…
La Tropicana-Lanai neighborhood in East San Jose has been seeing some great changes in recent years, and part of that change is credited to Victoria Partida, President of the local Neighboorhood Association.By Varrio Voices
Don Nacho, an elotero from South San Jose, shares his gratitude for the community and Lisette Robledo who launched a GoFundMe to support him with his medical expenses, a prime example of how we, as a community can support our local vendors. GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/432u5-help?qid=2fc9d3e52580c093647ea9aa754771da…
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Legacy of LUNA & Founder, Chava Bustamante
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Celebrating LUNA's advocacy within Eastside San Jose as well as the legacy of their founder, Chava Bustamante, who will share his journey, leading to the creation of the organization. To support LUNA's work, please consider donating and following their social media accounts: Donate: https://www.lunalatinosunidos.org/donate.html LUNA's Facebook: htt…
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Varrio Voices
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Close Reid-Hillview Airport: Environmental Racism
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Eastside San Jose continues to be poisoned by the lead-based fuels of the aircrafts flying from Reid-Hillview Airport. Let us not forget, planes have also crashed on the houses and public parks of the Eastside community. This is your chance to give public comment on the issue on August 17th's Board of Supervisors meeting of San Jose. Join via Zoom:…
This episode featuring Dueñas Car Club serves as a reminder of how many lowrider car clubs function as nonprofits, actively providing for our community. Dueñas CC will be sharing their vision on how they give back to the community as a mujeres-only car club. Our Varrios' Voices poetry e-book will be available on April 1st on our website: VarrioVoic…
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Creative Innovators with Gigi Johnson
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That Was an Accident . . . with Martin Atkins
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Question: How do you decide what adventures to take in your nonlinear career? What are intentional plans vs. accidents? Guest: Martin Atkins, Music Industries Coordinator, Millikin University; producer, drummer, documentary filmmaker, DJ, and teacher Photo: Kara Hammond and NARAS Martin Atkins talked with our host, Gigi Johnson, from his studio tha…
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Representation Matters: Fighting For Political Seats
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An empowering mujer within the community of Oxnard, Leslie Madrigal, follows her siblings steps towards becoming an elected official, bringing more representation among politicians who have a crucial say on our wellbeing.By Varrio Voices
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Creative Innovators with Gigi Johnson
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Tidbit Tuesday . . . Postcard Moments and Planned Happenchance
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This was fun. Your host, Gigi Johnson, has been speaking for college classes this past week and kept being asked to tell her/my story of the pivot points and non-linear decisions over 9 careers. So in this Tuesday Tidbit segment, I share the story of how I changed into a film major at USC based on postcard from my teaching assistant for a single cl…
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A Very Human Culture . . . with David Hernandez
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Question: What if you could build a company around your passions? In this episode, David Hernandez shares how he is unlearning and relearning what he knows to create competition for his company . . . in his own company! He runs Colonize Media, a multiplatform network music aggregator. He has worked to create “a very human culture” with his team of …
Today starts the first segment of Tidbit Tuesday, which brings in parts of the Redesigning Your Creative Career program from NextCareer.me. What is a Creative Career? What are we talking about when we throw around the term “creative career”? This could be having a traditional career in a creative industry, or it could be doing something that has cr…
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Creative Innovators with Gigi Johnson
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Ceremony and Story . . . with Beatie Wolfe
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Question: What if you could pursue the creative projects that you already saw in the world? Guest: Beatie Wolfe, Singer, Songwriter, Technologist (Photo: Ross Harris) In this episode, Beatie Wolfe takes us through her creative journey to become the technologist and artist she is today. Back when she was 7 or 8, she began to imagine the “music books…
Starting next Tuesday, we'll be sharing parts of the NextCareer.me career exploration programs to tie in with the non-linear career stories from each of these podcast interviews. We'll be sharing each week on Tuesdays a bit of the programs we have been working on for a few years with groups on how to expand your creative career, using examples from…
Tune in to some Valentine's shout outs, talks about love, and some appreciation for all the work our community is putting forward for the future generations. Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/g0GPNr Donate: https://varriovoices.com/checkout/donate?donatePageId=5d24d65f2886320001192653By Varrio Voices
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Finance, Story, and The Storm . . . with Christopher Zyda
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Question: What if you need to leave creative work to deal with crisis? How can you bring your creativity to other fields? Guest: Christopher Zyda, Author; CEO, Mozaic LLC In this episode, Christopher Zyda shares his journey through the 1980s AIDS pandemic as a young professional writer-to-be and his shift into finance to help care for his partner w…
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Scholarships for Latinx STEM Students ft Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley
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Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley shares the amazing scholarship now open on their website linked below. Along with supporting students, HFSV continuously provides resources and opportunities for our community to benefit from. Latinos In STEM scholarship: https://hfsv.org/news-events/whats-new/2021-LITSI-Application-Now-Available Stay connected…
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Combining All Your Loves Together . . . with Laura Escudé
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In this episode, Laura Escudé takes us on her journey from violinist to adventures in Los Angeles as a seat filler for TV shows from Craig’s list to market research to other one-off jobs. . . until she becomes a tech support staffer at M-Audio because of problems she had with her own keyboard. For listeners who are inspired by linear journeys, this…
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Investing In Your Future & Your Varrio ft. Investing Latina
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Join Investing Latinas as she shares tips on how to save, invest, and strengthen our financial well-being in the year 2021. Feel free to use Investing Latina as a resource and contact her "Ask Me Money Things" #: 9176364049 For further information, visit her website: https://beacons.ai/investinglatina…
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Wild Life Conservation In The Latinx Community
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Empowering environmentalist and community organizer, Mayra Pelagio, has been focusing her masters thesis on understanding our community values and connection to nature. If you are from San Jose and would like to support Mayra with her research please complete the 10 minute survey below. Thank you! English: https://sjsu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7VU…
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Creative Innovators with Gigi Johnson
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Seeing Solutions - A Blessing and a Curse . . . with Dae Bogan
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Dae Bogan shares how he sees solutions and “warps” them into business ideas -- which is both a blessing and a curse. He began with selling cakes in middle school and organizing bus tours in high school from Cleveland, OH to New York. From his early history in acting, singing, and creating and producing events, he moved into a long series of start-u…
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Varrio Voices
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Give Back To Your Varrio By Shopping Local These Holidays
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Be sure to support your varrio and local artists like José Flores Chamalé, known as Sangre Indigena Art, who are constantly pushing for representation of our communities of color. Please, hit up your local vendors. Support local and small business these holidays. Invest in our gente.By Varrio Voices
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This is our Future: Saving the Planet . . . with Bas den Braber and Jenna Seiden
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In this episode, we hear how Bas den Braber and Jenna Seiden are following their purpose with Zambezi Partners, a benefits corporation with a mission to eradicate African wildlife poaching during our lifetime. They both worked in large company business-to-business strategy, consulting, and brand leadership, and have found their purposes after their…
Jesus, @heysus94 on IG, goes to share how he continues to give back even in times of wild fires and distress. This episode was recorded in early September, when there were wild fires all across the west coast. We are grateful to have individuals like Jesus who is a constant source of light for our communities.…
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Creative Innovators with Gigi Johnson
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Wearing a Cape This Whole Time . . . with Tania Katan
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Tania Katan shares her wit and wisdom about how to use creativity to challenge with playfulness our rigid organizational cultures. She works with large and small companies, helping them find new alignment around their daily contradictions through “small c” creative work, facing everyday practical problems with imagination. She shares the tales of #…
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Pirates, Magicians, and Wizards . . . with Megan Elliott
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Megan Elliott shares her journey from Australia and indigenous cultural media to trade union representation in Ireland to traveling across Asia connecting leaders and cultures . . before she was found on LinkedIn to bring her superpowers to Nebraska. She tells of the shared collaborative creation of the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts,…
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Homie Hike ft Richard Tejeda from Saved By Nature
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Taking a hike with a homie of mine, reflecting on the importance of connect nature to the significance of our history, identity, and our well being. In addition, this episode is full achievements to celebrate. Congrats to Richard for receiving the Environmentalist of the Year award. Varrio Voices celebrates one year of weekly podcast episodes, high…
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An Incredible Experiment. . . with Mark "Frosty" McNeill and Ale Cohen
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Ale Cohen and Mark "Frosty" McNeill share their journey through “experimenting with sound” and community in building the Internet radio collective DUBLAB over the past two decades. They share what inspired and drove them to build this institution and how it has shifted gears in our listen-from-home global era. Dublab is not your average radio stati…
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Remembering Those Who've Passed At The Hands of ICE
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Today is Dia de los Muertos and we wanted to take a minute and talk about the new mural in Chicano Park, which acts as an altar to those who have been died at the hands of ICE and immigration customs. Let's continue to remember them and continue to fight for their justice.By Varrio Voices
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I Never Knew I was Supposed to Only Do One Thing. . . with Arabian Prince
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In this episode, Arabian Prince shares the rest of the story -- both before and after working with NWA. He shares how he got started with tech, entrepreneurship, and music creation at a young age. He talks with Gigi about how he taught himself new gaming and creative technologies, and how he brings that energy to his many current adventures. Guest:…
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Composers of Tomorrow . . . with Akira Nakano
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In this episode, Akira Nakano takes us through his journeys in piano performance, music composition, video editing, and starting a non-profit. These led to the launch of the LA Inception Orchestra, which works with youth and composers to launch Composers of Tomorrow. He shares his experience in piloting a learning non-profit organization and how hi…
Jesus gifts us his palabra on learning about our raza and his way of continue planting seeds within the community using murals and art. To support Varrio Voices and purchase merchandise visit, VarrioVoices.com/storeBy Varrio Voices
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Creative Innovators with Gigi Johnson
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Trust Your Calling . . . with Christopher Hope
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In this episode, Christopher Hope shares his journey to found The Loop Lab in Cambridge, MA. He learned through DJing, community service, religious studies, and partnering with local organizations to deliver a unique blend of higher education, apprenticeships, and entrepreneurship training. He has grown this nonprofit into a live and virtual traini…
Rebeca Armendariz shares her experience running for City Council, and provides words of encouragement for other homitas to also take on roles of political power. To support Varrio Voices and purchase merchandise visit, VarrioVoices.com/store For early-access to Varrio Voices episodes and to support the podcast, visit: Patreon.com/VarrioVoices/…
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Solving Problems with Art, VR, and Software . . . with Sasha Samochina
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In this episode, Sasha Samochina shares her journey connecting art, VR, and science together -- to her trio of roles at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). She illustrates why she is “thankful for [her] boldness” in interning and pushing into each new job and new technology. The Field Museum in Chicago became an opportunity to connect art, scienc…
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SF Mission District Murals Fighting Gentrification
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Lucia Gonzalez Ippolito, a local muralist, educator, and author, goes to share the empowering messages of her art and resiliency stemming from the streets of the San Francisco Mission District. For early-access to Varrio Voices episodes and to support the podcast, visit: Patreon.com/VarrioVoicesBy Varrio Voices
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BONUS: Recursos Para Los Tiempos De Covid
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LUNA - Latinos United for a New America - from East San Jose go to share resources for these times of Covid. To support Varrio Voices and purchase merchandise visit, VarrioVoices.com/store For early-access to Varrio Voices episodes and to support the podcast, visit: Patreon.com/VarrioVoices/By Varrio Voices
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Creative Innovators with Gigi Johnson
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Social Proof and Pushing Forward . . . with Ty Frankel
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In this episode, Ty Frankel shares how as a young music creator and entrepreneur he pushed to create relationships to build Shut Down Media. His multi-country company creates hip hop music for integration into film and television. He talks about how he overcame obstacles, how he got distracted, and how he returned to his core business. He talked ab…
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Mi Varrio Always, Gentrification Nunca ft. Mission Native
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Valentina, born and raised from the Mission District in San Francisco, is the founder of Mission Native where she encourages young homitos and homitas to always remember who they are and where they come from. Embrace your roots, mi gente! To support Varrio Voices and purchase merchandise visit, VarrioVoices.com/store For early-access to Varrio Voic…
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That Moment of Mojo . . . with Zack Zalon
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Zack Zalon has shifted and grown along with a transforming music industry. He began as (and still is) a musician, then blossomed at the Troubadour before launching into websites, marketing, Farm Club, Virgin, and through that Moment of Mojo into taking his background and the now-possible world of artificial intelligence into Super Hi-Fi. We wrap up…
