STEVE TAYLOR

With a sound steeped in the sunlit tones of Laurel Canyon, the mid 60’s pop and R&B of the Brill Building, and the lo-fi synths of early prog rock, Los Angeles resident Steve Taylor makes cinematic, impressionistic psych-folk that pushes the envelope of the singer/songwriter genre. A multi-instrumentalist with a remarkably diverse background, he’s been tapped to play with everyone from LA electro soul group Rhye to bass prodigy Tal Wilkenfeld. He’s steadily recorded his new opus, “The Land of Milk and Honey”, in between international tours and recording gigs. A sparse, moody, and soulful record, it is full of ruminations on the search for an idyllic paradise amidst the chaos and loneliness of modern day life. Sonically, you will find layers of vintage organs, pianos, analog synthesizers, and dead drums, creating a sound that’s both modern and thoroughly informed by 70’s AM rock.

​Influenced by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Nick Drake, and Joni Mitchell, his last album “Has the Size of the Road Got the Better of You?” was recorded at home and at the venerable Tiny Telephone Studio in San Francisco. The record showed the expanded influence of gospel music, something he explored while he was a guitarist and organist at a number of prominent African American congregations in the San Francisco Bay Area.

​Performing solo and with his band, Steve has played hundreds of shows, including headlining slots at The Independent and The Chapel in San Francisco, The Echo and The Hotel Café in LA, and The Hope & Anchor in London. An avid busker, he has made many fans the old fashioned way, through singing his heart out and pounding out his songs on his portable Helpinstill piano, an electrified acoustic remnant from the 70’s.

​In addition to being an active solo artist, Steve has played as a singer, keyboardist and guitarist with an incredibly diverse range of collaborators, including Rhye, Skylar Grey, Lauren Ruth Ward, Duane Betts, Rogue Wave, Nicki Bluhm, and members of the Grateful Dead, CAN, Guns n Roses, The Edwin Hawkins Singers, Deathcab for Cutie, and The Dirty Projectors. 

“Steve Taylor’s dreamy, folky, solo songs recall a long lost time… resonate with sun-flared AM radio gold of the early 1970s as vintage tones warble from an old Wurlitzer while acoustic six-strings intertwine with the watery notes of a lazy electric slide guitar under Taylor crooning like a young Graham Nash.” – iTunes

THE WATERS (KRYSTAL BAKER and STURGIS WATERS)

Where love and music collide, you will find The Waters. An acoustic duo whose core consists of singer/songwriter Krystal Baker and guitarist Sturgis Waters based out of Phoenix AZ, they bring a minimalist approach to progressive folk-rock music.

Her haunting vocals combined with his colorful guitar melodies blend to create a fabric of intimate conversation. The modest and dynamic aspects of the duo create an authentic experience. Once compared to a more multidimensional yet similar vocal sound to that of Natalie Merchant, coupled by his guitar stylings reminiscent of Tim Reynolds, you will find a great combination of distinctive yet familiar sounds.

Playing both their original songs as well as unique arrangements of other artists, their love of music is something we can all connect with

ALEXANDRA EISNER

Alexandra Eisner is a Supervisor on the Suicide Prevention Crisis Hotline for Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, and is also the Founder and Creator of a Suicide Prevention Company called LiveLong Movement. 

Alexandra’s connection with suicide started at age 17 when she first had a thought to kill herself. For nine years she battled and toyed with the thoughts, until ultimately she came to planning and attempting her death by overdosing at a music festival at age 26. The death ended up in an awakening so powerful she promised the Universe she’d dedicate her life to learning about exactly what it is she had just experienced. 

She has since turned to meditation and energy healing to continue the new journey. A year after the attempt she felt strong enough to support others heal from their suicide ideations. In June 2018 Alex started volunteering on the Suicide Prevention Hotline, while working as the Global Security Senior Coordinator for Sony Pictures Entertainment; where she had worked for over 7 years. Shortly later in January 2019, Alex was offered a position as the Security and Secrecy Assessor for Apple TV+. Alex made the move and traveled 50% of the time within the next year around the world managing Apples Studio Productions making sure nothing was pirated or leaked. 

As amazing as the opportunity was at Apple, Alex was once again not feeling strong enough to be on the Hotline and often was having to miss volunteer shifts. Something was out of alignment and she had to make a decision.

Alex has since quite Apple TV+ and became a Supervisor on the Suicide Prevention Hotline in February 2020. 

Every Monday through Friday on the graveyard shift Alex answers emergency calls on the Hotline, which include crisis’s related to mainly suicide and homicide. These calls can range from informational calls to tragic deaths. Alex has answered the phone nearly 500 times and in March, while still as a Supervisor in Training, she managed the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, Teen Line, and the Disaster Distress Hotline on her own because nearly 40 counselors were quarantined due to a positive COVID testing in an employee. 

On her own time, Alex has also been hand-making bracelets and giving them to people for free as part of the LiveLong Movement since November 2018. Over 700 bracelets have been sent around the world to people who’ve reached out to her directly in need of support. The bracelets are red to help alleviate self-mutaliation desires and have the words “Live Long” hand-stamped to represent the motivation to ‘live longer’.

From ages 17- 23, Alex struggled with anxiety attacks and used self-mutiliation as a coping skill. During a panic attack while driving one day at 23, Alex drove to a tattoo shop and got the worlds “Live Long” tattooed on her wrist next to her scars as a reminder to live long and not kill herself. She hopes these bracelets have helped others in ways like the tattoo does for her. 

Dr. Sean McMillan is an orthopedic sport medicine specialist, and one of the nation's few doctors performing reverse total shoulder replacement surgery.  He is Fellowship-trained in arthroscopic surgery of the shoulder, hip, and knee.

Army Captain Deshauna Barber, the current Chief Executive Officer of Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN), is Miss USA 2016, an award-winning international speaker, coach, and entrepreneur. Deshauna uses her experience as an Army officer, former Miss USA, and STEM graduate to impact the lives of people all over the world. Deshauna is a top-rated speaker who is widely requested as a speaker at Fortune 500 companies. She was born in Columbus, Georgia, the daughter of two soldiers. Serving in the military is a family tradition. In 2016, Deshauna was crowned the first soldier to the win the prestigious title of Miss USA. She spent her year-long reign as Miss USA advocating for men and women in uniform and continues her work advocating for service members suffering from post-traumatic stress. She is dedicated to ensuring that service members and veterans receive the support and assistance that they need. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Virginia State University, a Master of Science in Computer Information Systems and Services from University of Maryland and she is currently pursuing a Diversity, Social Justice and Inclusion Certification at University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.

Website:  https://www.servicewomen.org/

J O R M A

K A U K O N E N

LEGENDARY SINGER-SONGWRITER-GUITARIST

WITH

JEFFERSON AIRPLANE

AND

H  O  T   T  U  N  A

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

In a career that has already spanned a half-century, Jorma Kaukonen has been one of the most highly respected interpreters of American roots music, blues, and rock. A member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and a Grammy recipient, Jorma was at the forefront of popular rock and roll, one of the founders of the San Francisco sound and a progenitor of Psychedelic Rock. He is a founding member of two legendary bands, Jefferson Airplane and the still-touring Hot Tuna. Jorma Kaukonen is a music legend and one of the finest singer-songwriters in his field. He continues to tour the world bringing his unique styling to old blues tunes while presenting new songs of weight and dimension. His secret is in playing spontaneous and unfiltered music, with an individual expression of personality. In 2016, Jorma, Jack Casady and the other members of Jefferson Airplane were awarded The GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award for their contributions to American music.

In 1965, met Paul Kantner and was invited to join a new not-yet-named rock band Kantner was forming with Marty Balin. As a self-described blues purist, Kaukonen was initially reluctant, but found his imagination excited by the arsenal of effects available to electric guitar, later remarking that he was "sucked in by technology." With the group still looking for a name, Kaukonen suggested Jefferson Airplane, inspired by an eccentric friend who had given his dog the name "Blind Lemon Jefferson Airplane." Jorma invited his old musical partner Jack Casady to come out to San Francisco and play electric bass for the new band, and together they created much of Jefferson Airplane’s signature sound.

A pioneer of counterculture-era psychedelic rock, the group was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve international mainstream success. Their 1967 record Surrealistic Pillow is regarded as one of the key recordings of the "Summer of Love."

Jorma and Jack would jam whenever they could and would sometimes perform sets within sets at Airplane concerts. The two would often play clubs following Airplane performances. Making a name for themselves as a duo, they struck a record deal, and Hot Tuna was born. Jorma left Jefferson Airplane after the band’s most productive five years, pursuing his full-time job with Hot Tuna. Over the past five decades Hot Tuna has performed thousands of concerts and released more than two-dozen records. The musicians who have performed with them are many and widely varied, as are their styles — from acoustic to long and loud electric jams, but never straying far from their musical roots. What is remarkable is that they have never coasted. Hot Tuna today sounds better than ever.

Purchase Jorma’s latest solo recording

Ain’t In No Hurry on Red House Records.

It has received wonderful critical acclaim:

at amazon.com

Purchase Jorma’s memoirs

Been So Long: My Life and Music

at amazon.com

For more information about Jorma Kaukonen

 and Hot Tuna visit

Jorma blogs consistently.

 Cracks in the Finish:

 http://jormakaukonen.com/cracksinthefinish

BreakDownWay.com Online Guitar Lesson Workshop: Jorma Kaukonen & Friends Online Guitar Lesson Workshop, brought to you by the good folks at the Award-winning Fur Peace Ranch. Learn American Roots, Blues, Folk, Finger-picking and more, with enough to occupy all ranges of skills from beginner to advanced.  http://breakdownway.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/BreakDownWaycom/195747373778909?sk=info&tab=page_info

Joseph Cardillo, PhD, is national leader in holistic healthcare. He is the best-selling author of several books in the fields of health, mind-body-spirit, and psychology. His books include The 12 Rules of Attention: How to Avoid Screw-ups, Free Up Headspace, Do More and Be More at Work (forthcoming, 2020); Body Intelligence: Harness Your Body’s Energies for Your Best Life; Can I Have Your Attention: How to Think Fast, Find Your Focus and Sharpen Your Concentration; and the body energy classic, Be Like Water. In addition, he has co-written books for Harvard Health Publications.

Dr. Cardillo is an expert in Attention Training™ and creative thinking and has taught his methods to over 20,000 students at various institutions. His books have been translated into ten languages. He holds a PhD in holistic psychology and mind-body-medicine. He is a regular contributor to Psychology Today and writes a health column for Live Happy magazine.

Feature articles on Dr. Cardillo’s work have appeared in The Chicago Tribune, The Hollywood Reporter, Smithsonian Magazine, The New York Post, The Los Angeles Times, Men’s Health, REBOUND (The Official Publication of the National Basketball Retired Players Association), Family Circle, Women’s Health.Com, Curve, Fitness Magazine, Natural Health, TheTodayShow.Com, Psych Central, Natural Awakenings and GoodHouseKeeping.com.

Rick "Nifty" Middleton -- Co-Producer of "Tough Sledding The Movie" --- Rick played in the NHL from 1973-1988 for the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins. Rick currently holds a couple of NHL Records and is the active President of the Boston Bruins Alumni Association.

“Tough Sledding The Movie,” a movie in pre-production (August 2020) that highlights the true story of the 2002 Paralympics US Sled Hockey team. This is a family-friendly sports and drama narrative film that follows a “rags-to-riches” storyline portrayed by an all-American underdog team.