WELCOME TO THE SHOW
My name is Steve Owens and I meet a lot of people; sometime in my travels, sometimes in my own home town. Several times (quite by accident), I have stumbled into what I consider to be fascinating stories. So after way too many got away, I decided to start recording them. Some of these conversations will be fascinating ONLY to me. Some will be fascinating to you too. In the end, I guess this podcast is just an excuse for me to get to travel, meet, and talk to more people. So if you are so inclined…
Walk with me, down Fascination Street!
Recent Episodes
Alan Bishop – Alchemist & Lead Distiller (Spirits of French Lick)
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Alan Bishop
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Alan Bishop. Alan is the Alchemist & Lead Distiller at Spirits of French Lick distillery in French Lick, Indiana. In this episode we chat about how many generations of distillers (moonshiners) are in his family, and why he decided to follow in their footsteps. He tells fun stories about getting his first still before he was even old enough to drive! Naturally we discuss how he came to work at SoFL, why he takes such pride in his job, what Indiana distilling means to him, and of course we discuss their many products. Spirits of French Lick Distillery offers a FASCINATION STREET ABSINTHE! Lastly, Alan tells us about his podcast (Distillers Talk), His book and website The Alchemist Cabinet.
Follow Alan on social media:
Twit: SpiritsofFL
Insta: @TheAlchemistCabinet
FB: Alan Bishop
Blog: The AlchemistCabinet.wordpress.com
Mario Andretti – Driver Of The Century (F-1, Nascar, IndyCar)
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Mario Andretti
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Mario Andretti. In this episode Mario and I chat about what brought his family to The United States, and how he and his twin brother Aldo got bitten by the racing bug. He shares some of his favorite memories of his driving career (which spanned from 1959 to 2000). We talk about some of the automotive innovations that started in racing and are now on every passenger car made; He also tells me what it was like to win the Daytona 500, The Indy 500, and the Formula One World Championship. Finally, we close the show out talking about his post racing businesses which include a winery, and the nationwide Andretti Indoor Carting and Games entertainment complexes. (I do challenge him to a race at the one near my house!)
Mario is a legend and a national treasure, who has made a name for himself all over the world in his sport as well as his compassion and generosity. It was a great honor to speak with 3 time US Driver of the Year, US Driver of the Quarter Century, and Driver of the Decade.
Follow Mario on social media:
Twit: @MarioAndretti
Insta: @AndrettiMario
FB: Mario Andretti
Mario’s website: MarioAndretti.com
Sunday Morning – Pop Punk Band
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Sunday Morning
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Westly Benjunas and Parker Dumont from the pop punk band Sunday Morning. In this episode we chat about what got each of them into music, and what it does for them emotionally, and mentally. We also talk about how the band got together, and what their plans are going forward. Theses guys were nice enough to let me play 2 of their songs on the show; so buckle up! Special thanks to our mutual friend, and previous guest Angela Modifica for connecting us for this episode.
Follow Sunday Morning on social media:
Twit: @SundayMorningCt
Insta: @SundayMorningCt
FB: Sunday Morning Ct
Website: SundayMorningCt.com
Jolee Kasprzak – Marketing Director (French Lick Winery / Spirits of French Lick Distillery)
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Jolee Kasprzak
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Jolee Kasprzak. Jolee is the Marketing Director for both the French Lick Winery and Spirits of French Lick Distillery; both located in French Lick, Indiana. In this episode, we chat about how she wound up in Indiana after being born & raised in California. Next we jump right into her work at the winery and the distillery. We talk a lot about the products they offer, why they name their spirits after real people, and Jolee gives us a small lesson regarding the history of bourbon making in Indiana. While The French Lick Winery specializes in sweet wines; Spirits of French Lick Distillery makes just about every spirit you can imagine: bourbon, gin, vodka, brandy, aquavit, even absinthe.
Follow Jolee on social media:
Twit: @SpiritsOfFL
Insta: @theTestarossa / @SpiritsOfFrenchLick
FB: Jolee Clarke.Kasprzak / Spirits Of French Lick
Chris Gronkowski – Ex NFL Player / Entrepreneur (Ice Shaker)
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Chris Gronkowski
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Chris Gronkowski. Chris is the middle of 5 giant humans known as The Gronkowski Brothers. He is also the smallest. In this episode we chat about how being the smallest of the pack helped instill in him a tireless work ethic; and how his natural ‘motor’ stays running as he strives for success in all aspects of his life. We talk about growing up a Gronkowski in Buffalo, and why all of the brothers were drawn to athletics. Chris shares some fun stories about being one of these crazy kids, and we talk about his NFL career; which spanned 3 teams over 4 years. The we discuss his the many businesses he has started and continues to run, his appearance on Shark Tank, and his podcast: Gronk’d Up!
Enjoy.
Follow Chris on social media:
Twit: @ChrisGronkowski & @IceShakerBottle
Insta: @ChrisGronkowski & @IceShaker
FB: Ice Shaker
TikTok: @ChrisGronkowski
Stephanie Humphrey – Technology & Lifestyle Expert
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Stephanie Humphrey.
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Stephanie Humphrey. Stephanie is a Technology & Lifestyle Expert who regularly contributes to: ABC News, Strahan, Sara, & Keke, Good Morning America, BlackEnterprise.com, EBONY.com, and tons of other outlets. In this episode we chat about why and how Stephanie came to be an expert in tech, what attracted her to the industry, and some her favorite bits of tech. She shares some “dos & don’ts”, I tell an embarrassing Twitter story,, and finally, Stephanie tells us about her website and her book: DON’T LET YOUR DIGITAL FOOTPRINT KICK YOU IN THE BUTT!
Stephanie helps all of us BECOME BETTER DIGITAL CITIZENS.
Follow Stephanie on social media:
Twit: @TechLifeSteph
Insta: @TechLifeSteph
FB: Stephanie Humphrey
Website: TilDeathDoYouTweet.com
Vincent Caldoni – Filmmaker (Contactee) / Podcaster (The Shocking Details)
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Vincent Caldoni
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Vincent Caldoni. Vincent is a filmmaker, a podcaster, and an employee at The Oregon Zoo in Portland. In this episode, we chat about growing up in the Pacific Northwest, some stories from working at the zoo, and what sparked his interest in making films. We also discuss his new feature film CONTACTEE, and where you can see it for free. Plus the story of how his podcast, (The Shocking Details) came to be!
Follow Vincent on social media:
Twit: @VCaldoni & @ShockingDetails
FB: Vincent Caldoni & Contactee: A Film By Vincent Caldoni & The Shocking Details Podcast
Paul Hollis – Former Secret Agency “Analyst” / Author (The Hollow Man series)
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Paul Hollis
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Paul Hollis. Paul is a former “Undercover Analyst” for an unnamed United States government agency; as well as the author of The Hollow Man Series (winner of The World’s Best Story competition). In this episode, we chat about how he came to work as a secret agent back in the 1970’s. We also talk about some of the missions he ‘analyzed’, and why he decided to write down these exploits and turn them into a novel trilogy. I have read the first of the series and am diving right into the second! Heads up; we never say specifically which agency he worked for and some names have been changed, obviously.
Follow Paul on social media:
Twit: @HollowManSeries
Insta: @TheHollowManSeries
FB: Paul Hollis
FB: The Hollow Man Series
Website: TheHollowManSeries.com
John Sylvain – Podcaster (Nooner) / Game Creator (You Know It!)
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John Sylvain
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know John Sylvain. John is a podcast host on the Nooner podcast on the Smodcast podcast network; as well as an adjunct film professor at Cal State Poly Tech. John is also the founder of The Sacred Fools theater in Los Angeles, and the creator of You Know It! The Game; my favorite trivia card based game. In this episode we chat about all of these things, plus his time at Yale, and his time in Seattle running a small theater company. There is a giveaway in this episode of his game, so pay attention!
Follow John on social media:
Twit: @Sylvainbbb
FB: John Sylvain
Check out the game at: YouKnowItTheGame.com
Watch the game by searching You Know it The Game on YouTube.
John’s Amazon Author page:
https://www.amazon.com/John-Sylvain/e/B00TUPQ280?ref_=dbs_p_ebk_r00_abau_000000
Donald Carpenter – singer / musician (SubmerseD / Blisskrieg)
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Donald Carpenter
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Donald Carpenter. Donald was previously the lead singer for the rock band SubmerseD, and Eye Empire; and currently fronts the new rock band Blisskrieg. Blisskrieg is comprised of Donald, and the three founding members of Days Of The New and Tantric. (Todd Whitener, Matt Taul, and previous guest Jesse Vest)
In this episode Donald and I chat about how he got into the music business, how his first 2 successful bands got together, why he took a break from the music business, and how this new band came to be. We do briefly discuss some of the pitfalls and downsides of the music business, as well as some behind the scenes stories about how this new album got made during Covid 19. Donald does let me play one of the songs off of Blisskrieg’s new album Remedy (available everywhere), so Thank you Donald!
Follow Donald on social media:
Insta: @DonaldCarpenterMusic
FB: Donald Carpenter (Musician Page)
Follow Blisskrieg on social media:
Twit: @BlisskriegBand
Insta: @BlisskriegBand
FB: Blisskrieg