Spotlight On

Jason Davis grew up in Northwest NJ, wrote songs and landed a career as an artist manager through his hustle and drive. Working throughout the years with such iconic acts as Boyz ll Men, The Go-Go’s, Alabama, Lonestar and Dolly Parton, among many others. He is co-founder and partner of label, management and publishing conglomerate Radar Label Group, as well as One One 7 Entertainment (Fahrenheit Media Group, One One 7 TV), Awaken Records, Care For Kids, and works with Noble Management.Jason shares a very personal story about how he made his way into this work. It's an inspiring episode of Spot Lyte On about how to become an artist manager.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We need YOU to go vote for DEVO. Go to I Rocked the Fan Vote today and vote for DEVO to make it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Vote today and tell all your friends. Gerald Casale's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder and bass player of the new wave band Devo, which released a Top 20 hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It". Casale is the main lyricist and one of the main composers of Devo's music and directed most of Devo's music videos. He is one of only two members (along with lead singer and keyboardist Mothersbaugh) who have been with Devo throughout its entire history. Casale's brother Bob also performed with the band.Casale pursued a solo career in 2005 while still a member of Devo with the project Jihad Jerry & the Evildoers. The project received little promotion beyond a music video for the single "Army Girls Gone Wild." Jihad Jerry performed at several shows near the end of Devo's 2006 tour, performing the song "Beautiful World". He has also performed occasionally with other bands.Casale has also directed music videos for other recording artists, including The Cars ("Touch and Go"), Rush ("Mystic Rhythms"), A Perfect Circle ("Imagine"), Foo Fighters ("I'll Stick Around"), Soundgarden ("Blow Up the Outside World"), and Silverchair ("Freak" and "Cemetery"), among others. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two-time Emmy winner David Page changed the world of food television by creating, developing, and executive-producing the groundbreaking show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Before that, as a network news producer based in London, Frankfurt, and Budapest, he travelled Europe, Africa, and the Middle East doing two things―covering some of the biggest stories in the world, and developing a passion for some of the world’s most incredible food.Page walked through Checkpoint Charlie into East Berlin the night the Berlin wall opened, but his favorite memory of the eastern side before reunification remains the weisswurst sold under the S-Bahn elevated train. He was first served couscous by Moammar Khaddafy’s kitchen staff while waiting in a tent to interview the dictator in Libya. Blood oranges at a three a.m. breakfast with Yasser Arafat. Wild boar prosciutto in Rome. Bouillabaisse in Marseille. Cheese pies in Tbilisi. Venison in Salzburg. Nonstop caviar in Moscow. He even managed to slip a few food features in between the headline stories, such as a profile of Germany’s leading food critic, which turned out not to be the oxymoron one might assume.Once back in the states, Page has pursued his passion both personally and professionally. Show-producing Good Morning America, he was involved in a substantial amount of food coverage, including cooking segments by Emeril Lagasse. Creating Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and hands-on producing its first eleven seasons took him deep into the world of American food―its vast variations, its history, its evolution, and especially the dedicated cooks and chefs keeping it vibrant. His next series, the syndicated Beer Geeks, dove deep into the intersection of great beer and great food. It is those experiences, that education, the discovery of little-known stories and facts that led Page to dig even deeper and tie the strands together in Food Americana. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John William "Jack" Casady (born April 13, 1944) is an American bass guitarist, best known as a member of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna. Jefferson Airplane became the first successful exponent of the San Francisco Sound. Their singles, including "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit", had a more polished style than their other material, and successfully charted in 1967 and 1968. Casady, along with the other members of Jefferson Airplane, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.In this episode, Jack talks about growing up in Washington, DC. He also talks about the jazz shows he saw as a teenager and building early amps and electronics for his bass with Owsley Stanley. Jack and Jorma are hitting the road post-pandemic so grab your tickets. There are acoustic Hot Tuna dates in the spring/summer and Electric Tuna dates in the fall.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Backline is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that connects music industry professionals and their families with mental health and wellness resources— streamlining access to a network of trusted organizations and care providers that understand this line of work.Backline is hosting their first-ever livestream fundraiser to support mental health in the music industry. Set Break will serve as a celebration and showcase of the work they’ve been able to accomplish since launching in 2019, with live appearances and immersive wellness experiences from around the world.Artists featured include Alanis Morrissette, Ben Folds, Black Pumas, Dawes, DJ Millie, Galactic, Lake Street Dive, Larkin Poe, Leon Bridges, Los Lobos, Oteil Burbridge, Michael Franti and many others. Set Break will take place on April 10th at 4pm EST via The Relix Channel, exclusively on Twitch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Durrani is an accomplished entertainment executive, entrepreneur, and artist manager with more than 25 years of success in the entertainment industry. Leveraging extensive and diverse industry experience, Faisel has been able to help artists and companies grow by developing and executing world-class strategies.Throughout his executive career, Faisel has held leadership positions at Island Records, Palm Pictures, Live Nation, Parkwood Entertainment, Def Jam Recordings and Universal Music Group. He has played an integral role in launching the careers of many top charting artists including Logic and Alessia Cara, as well as managing careers for icons such as Beyonce.Today Durrani is now applying the same strategies he used to launch the most successful musicians on the planet as the Co-CEO of Looped, a state of the art virtual venue that is innovating the live experience for both creators and fans. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rudy Sarzo is a professional recording and performing artist worldwide with a career spanning over 35 years.As a member of Ozzy Osbourne’s band, from March 1981 to September 1982, Rudy toured the world in support of the “Blizzard of Ozz” and “Diary Of a Madman” records. His bass playing can be heard on Ozzy’s multimillion selling CD “Tribute” and “Speak of the Devil” CD and DVD.As a member of Quiet Riot from 1982 to 1985, Rudy recorded the multi-platinum albums “Metal Health," the first Heavy Metal debut to reach #1 on the Billboard charts, and “Condition Critical." During this period he headlined worldwide tours, appeared on numerous MTV videos and was voted #1 Bassist in Circus Magazine for 1983.As a member of Whitesnake from April 1987 to September 1994, Rudy recorded the multi-platinum album “Slip of the Tongue." During this period he also performed worldwide on headline tours in support of the multiplatinum “1987” and “Slip of the Tongue” albums and appeared on six MTV videos.As a member of the reunited Quiet Riot from 1997 to 2003, Rudy performed worldwide on headlining tours and as special guests in support of the Quiet Riot CDs “Alive and Well” and "Guilty Pleasure." He also appeared on VH1’s Quiet Riot, Behind the Music. In November of 2003, “Quiet Riot Live in The 21st Century” DVD was released after the group disbanded. Rudy's recordings with all of these artists combined have sold over 30 million copies.In February of 2004, Rudy joined Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force for the U.S. 30 city “Attack Tour."In April of 2004, Rudy became member of the multi-platinum Heavy Metal group DIO and remained the band's bassist until Ronnie's passing in 2010. During that time Rudy toured the world with DIO and recorded the "Holy Diver 25th Anniversary LIVE" DVD and CD and DIO's last studio track "Elektra." In addition, when Rudy was not busy with DIO, he toured the world with Blue Oyster Cult until 2012. From 2013 through 2014 Rudy was a recording and touring member of Geoff Tate's Queensryche.In 2005, Rudy published the #1 Best Selling book, "Off the Rails: Aboard the Crazy Train in the Blizzard of Ozz."Today, Rudy continues to tour and record as a solo artist and with such bands as Guess Who, Animetal USA, Project Rock and GUNZO.You can hear him weekly on his radio show "Six Degrees of Sarzo" on Monsters of Rock Radio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jonathan is a highly regarded music-publishing executive, and the chief creative curator of all the songs you hear on Rocket Songs – he’s got the “ears”.Jonathan began his career at ATV Music, becoming the Manager of Creative Services for the Nashville office, before moving on to become Director of Creative Services for MCA Music, working with such famed songwriters as Glen Ballard, Robbie Nevil, Mark Mueller, and Brock Walsh.Jonathan's success at MCA caught the eye of the legendary Quincy Jones (yeah that guy), who made Jonathan Vice President of Qwest Music Publishing/Quincy Jones Productions, overseeing all aspects of music publishing for Quincy, including A&R for various productions including Michael Jackson, Patty Austin and James Ingram.Jonathan went on to run Windswept Pacific Music Publishing, founded by legendary music publishers Chuck Kaye and Joel Sill, in partnership with Fujipacific Music of Japan, the largest music publisher in Asia.As GM and then President of Windswept, Jonathan guided the company to become one of the largest independent music publishers in the world, publishing the works of Bruno Mars, Kings of Leon, Beyonce, The Spice Girls, Corinne Bailey Rae, Snow Patrol, Pete Townsend, Alice Cooper, Chris Farren, Mike Elizondo, and way to many more to name.Windswept was sold to Bug Music for $175 Million, and Jonathan again joined forces with Fujipacific to form Radar Music, finding, signing and developing new writing talent in all genres of music. Radar struck gold with the signing of songwriter/producer Michael 'Omega' Fonseca, who co-wrote “Centuries” for Fall Out Boy.Jonathan has served on the board of various organizations, including the Board of Directors for the Academy of Country Music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ForTunes is an Austrian based company that collects performance-insights of songs, social media posts and profiles. This includes data from Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and SubmitHub blogs. They have features such as: an intelligent newsfeed, playlist notifications on Spotify and Apple Music, a playlist recommendation engine, social media growth and engagement data, and YouTube comments. ForTunes is available in for Apple iOS and on Android. Florian shares the story of ForTunes and talks about the importance of growing careers using data.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From 1968 to 1973, the public television variety show SOUL!, guided by the enigmatic producer and host Ellis Haizlip, offered an unfiltered, uncompromising celebration of Black literature, poetry, music, and politics—voices that had few other options for national exposure, and, as a result, found the program an improbable place to call home.The series was among the first to provide expanded images of African Americans on television, shifting the gaze from inner-city poverty and violence to the vibrancy of the Black Arts Movement. With participants’ recollections and illuminating archival clips, Mr. SOUL! captures a critical moment in culture whose impact continues to resonate, and an unsung hero whose voice we need now more than ever to restore the SOUL of a nation. Stream MR. SOUL! on PBS today.Melissa Haizlip - director/producerBorn in Boston and raised in the US Virgin Islands, Connecticut and New York, director, Melissa Haizlip attended Yale University. After a 25-year career as a professional Broadway stage performer and film and television actor, Haizlip moved to Los Angeles to work in development at the American Film Institute and began casting for independent features. Her film 40, a multi-storyline, international thriller set in Turkey and Africa, premiered at Toronto International Film Festival 2010. Currently a fellow in Stanley Nelson’s Firelight Media Producers’ Lab, Haizlip participated in the Producers Guild of America Diversity Workshop 2011.She founded Shoes In The Bed Productions, an independent film production company producing cinematic works of non-fiction with an emphasis on diverse new voices and filmmakers of color. Haizlip has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Black Programming Consortium, and ITVS’ Diversity Development Fund. Currently, Haizlip is in production with Mr. SOUL! and has several other projects in development.Ed Gerard - Music Supervisor Ed Gerrard is a Grammy winning Music Supervisor and current Board member for the Guild of Music Supervisors. The Guild consists of Music Supervisors in the world of Film, TV, Games, Commercials, and Brand Marketing. Ed has also managed artists such as Jon Cleary, Dr. John, Eliane Elias, Gogol Bordello, Hugh Masekela, Ike Turner, Angelique Kidjo, Cassandra Wilson, Deee-Lite, Lisa Fischer, Teddy Pendergrass, Bang Tango, Marcus Roberts, Cheb Khaled, Michelle Shocked, Simi Stone, and Thomas Dolby.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.