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Joining us today is the two-time Sammy Awards winner, Diana Jacobs. She is a super talented musician, writer, vocalist, arranger, pianist, percussionist, and performer of rock, gospel, jazz, and R&B music. 

Alongside her husband, Mettis Jacobs, she founded the Diana Jacobs Band, a high-energy funk, soul, and R&B horn band. Their first album, Good Metticine, earned them the 2018 Sammy Award for Best R&B Recording. She has also taught English for 34 years; she has four children and five grandsons. 

In this episode, we invite Diana to take a look back at herself, the influence of music throughout her childhood, her experience living in a small village in Alaska, and the relationship her sons and grandsons have with music. We also talk about how she feels making music live versus recording in a studio, how she manages to bring a live's presentation energy into the closed room, and her relationship with her husband as an artistic collaborator. 

We enjoy bits of her mesmerizing music, and we talk about her future plans as a musician and educator. 

Some Questions I Ask:

• Could you talk about your exposure to music as a child? (2:18)
• From that early music exposure, you had your first band when you were 14 years old. Tell us a little more about that (3:43)
• How did your children feel about mom and dad being out there performing a lot? (9:27)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Diana talks about the first band she ever belonged to and their experience at a music contest (3:53)
• Diana describes her experiences living in a bush village in Alaska (4:53)
• The different processes of making music in a studio and performing live for an audience (11:23)
• The love for open mic communities. Diana shares the creation process of the album that earned her the 2020 Sammy Award for Best Blues (18:43)
• Future plans for Diana (22:45)

Resources:

• Diana Jacobs website

Connect with Diana:

• Facebook
• YouTube

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Before becoming an elected member of the Syracuse City Common Council, our guest, Joe Driscoll, played worldwide and formed a fantastic duo with Sekou Kouyate, a Guinean musician considered one of the most innovative virtuosic players of the kora, the 21-stringed West African harp. 

Joe's relationship with music started when he was a kid; his mother would use music as a pacifier to soothe little Joe's rambunctious and hyper-energetic personality. Fast forward many years, Joe decided to travel to London and then tour around Europe, where he would meet Sekou at a festival in Marseille. Together, they played at hundreds of festivals and venues across Europe, North America, and Africa, generating incendiary musical reactions whenever they set foot on stage. 

In this episode, we delve into Joe's fascinating life story. We talk about how he developed his unique style, blending folk, funk, and hip-hop, his decision to leave the US, and the breathtaking experience of playing for tens of thousands of people at festivals all over the world. We also talk about his passion for beatboxing, the influence Colin Aberdeen had on his career, and the magical moment when he was locked in a room with Sekou, both non-speakers of each other language, and managed to write a whole album together. 

Joe also shared why he decided to come back to America and participate in Bernie Sanders' campaign and why he decided to get involved and become an elected official. 

Tune in and listen to episode 2 of Front Row Syracuse and get a closer look at this progressive politician, talented musician, and gifted son of Syracuse. 

Some Questions I Ask:

• What was your first musical influence? How did you get hooked? And when did you first know that it was your calling? (2:15)
• You went off to college for a short while, which wasn't your calling. So you ended up back here trying to make it as a musician. Could you talk a bit about that? (6:31)
• Let's take the audience to Europe. Could you talk about your experience there? (10:17)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• From John Lennon and The Beatles to beatbox. Joe talks about his musical influences and his evolution in music (4:01)
• Joe's brand new loop pedal and thousands of hours of playing with sounds (7:53)
• About Colin Aberdeen's influence on Joe's career as a musician (10:32)
• About the transcendental aspect of music (17:04)
• How Joe met Sekou and the beginning of an epic duo (22:54)
• How and why Joe decided to come back to America and get involved in politics (26:34)

Resources:

• Joe Driscoll and Sekou Kouyate on cumbancha.com

Connect with Joe:

• LinkedIn
• Joe's profile on Syracuse City Common Council website 

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