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
Kelly Lang Returns – Singer / Songwriter (I Think It’s Jesus)
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Kelly Lang Returns
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know even more about Kelly Lang. This is a return appearance for Kelly. Her first appearance (Sept 2021) is where we really get to know Kelly, and her back story. In this return visit, we chat about her new autobiography: I’m Not Going Anywhere, her new album: Old Soul II, and her newest single: I Think It’s Jesus, which is also covered on Lorrie Morgan’s new album. She shares stories about her longtime friend and confidant Olivia Newton-John, and how they met through Sir Barry Gibb. I also ask her about her friendship with previous guest BJ Thomas, and she lets me play that new single.
Check out all things Kelly Lang at KellyLang.net
Dina “The Spicy Meatball” Parise – 2015 Pro Mod Drag Racing World Champion
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Dina Parise
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Dina Parise. In this episode, we chat about her growing up on Long Island, Ny., and how she became a professional ice skater for The Ice Capades. Next we move onto how she met her husband; who was an adiv street racer. Dina shares some street racing stories that helped convince her husband to stop street racing, and get onto the track. We explore what made Dina fall in love with the sport of drag racing, and how she evolved into a Pro Mod World Champion. Of course we discuss her 3000 hp Cadillac named Stella. Finally, we cover where her racing team is at now, and Dina shares information about a charity that helps uplift women pre / during / and post cancer treatments. Oh… and we find out why Dina is called The Spicy Meatball!
Makenzie Phipps – Singer / Songwriter (Drag / Life’s game)
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Makenzie Phipps
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know County Music singer / songwriter, Makenzie Phipps. In this episode, we chat about how she started singing and playing the piano at a very young age, and the woman who pushed her and inspired her to become a singer, and a songwriter. With a minor focus on hymns, and gospel songs; Makenzie also writes and performs Christmas songs and country songs; including ‘Amazing Grace’, “Drag”, and “A Little of Both’, Makenzie was also recently awarded the ‘Songwriter Achievement Award’ in 2022 from The Josie Music Awards; for the unreleased song: ‘Life’s Game’. The woman that inspired Makenzie and this award-winning song was her Maw Maw; so we talk a bit about Maw Maw and her debilitating disease of Alzheimer’s. Makenzie shares her feelings on how this disease affects the entire family, and she picks up a guitar and plays ‘Life’s Game’ LIVE! Look for this song to be released with some sort of fanfare in the near future; and follow Makenzie on all of the social medias!
Carolyn Jones – Author / Filmmaker (The American Nurse / In Case of Emergency / Catalysts
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Carolyn Jones
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know author & filmmaker Carolyn Jones. In this episode, we chat about how growing up surrounded by the Amish inspired her to become a storyteller. Then we get into a small tangent about her being a rally car co-driver in the Paris to Dakar Rally! We get back on track and talk about some of her books, and then dive headfirst into her films. Carolyn is a documentary filmmaker who has a passion for telling stories of hope, inspiration, and heroism. We discuss her films: Defining Hope, The American Nurse, In Case of Emergency, and her upcoming documentary Catalysts. We go all over the place here folks; from sharing stories of those affected by HIV/AIDS, to hospice care, and the role that nurses play in all of our lives. This episode is at once touching and sorrowful, and I hope you enjoy every single bit of it as much as I did.
Gisela Adisa – Actress – Broadway (1776)
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Gisela Adisa
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know film, television, and Broadway actress Gisela Adisa. In this episode, we chat about her being the child of immigrant parents and growing up on the East Coast. We talk about what their hopes for their children were; and how those hopes panned out. Then we discuss some of her film projects, and some of her theatrical works. I ask tons of questions about working with Dule Hill, Giancarlo Esposito, and the great Mario Van Peebles; and she explains how she restrains herself from acting like a smitten schoolgirl in front of these talented dreamboats! (My words, not hers). Next we move onto the subject of the writers’ strike, and how it also affects the stage. Finally, Gisela tells us everything we need to know about this new touring revival production of 1776; where she plays Sam Adams. Plus, we talk about the diverse nature of this cast, and why this kind of ‘out of the box’ casting is necessary.
Natasha Blasick – Actress (Paul T. Goldman / Moms Rising / Karaganda)
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Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know actress Natasha Blasick. Born and raised in Ukraine, Natasha felt drawn to learn English at an early age and found an escape in acting not long after. In this episode, we chat about growing up in Odessa, before following a boy across the world to The United States. We discuss her rapidly growing acting career, which includes several films and television shows either out now or coming out soon. (Karaganda, Moms Rising, Immortality) She shares a few stories from the set of Jaime Foxx’s directorial debut: All-Star Weekend; including motivational words from both Jeremy Piven and Jamie Foxx himself. Finally, Natasha shares her recent experiences as the bass player for the band Snowflakes, with her husband Martin. She even lets me play one of their more popular songs called ‘Ukraine Will Prevail’.
Steven Kunes – Screenwriter (Television & Film)
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Steven Kunes
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know television and film screenwriter, Steven Kunes. In this episode, we chat about how Steven got into writing for Hollywood through a simple, yet sincere, reaching out to one of television’s most iconic and prolific producer-screenwriters. We also get into some of Steven’s writing credits, including: The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, A.K.A. Pablo, Kate & Allie, The Love Boat, Rain Main, Cast Away, and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Then we REALLY get into it. Steven tells me about the time he had some issues in his personal life that led to his losing everything and going to prison. Steven describes these events, and this period of his life as somewhat of a cautionary tale, and he even did a TED Talk about it. Finally, we discuss his new show on Amazon Prime (also released as an audio only podcast), called OVER MY DEAD BODY. Steven explains the premise of the show and we talk about some of the episodes that I listened to that made me subscribe. This is a redemption story, folks; a comeback tale of starting over in the later chapters of his life.
Lori Fetrick – “Ice” From American Gladiators
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Lori FetrickTake a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Lori Fetrick. As the character “Ice” from the iconic reality competition TV show American Gladiators; Lori Fetrick kicked ass and took names. In this episode, we chat about her early life, growing up in ‘the church’, and how this monstor competitor was created! She tells us about her insane work ethic, her never ending motivation, and what led her to seek out one of the oddest jobs of the early 1990’s. Lori shares how she became an American Gladiator, some of her fun stories about being a Gladiator, and what she has been doing since then. There are T-W-O recent documentaries about the American Gladiators, and she breaks them both down. One of them is a bizarre puff piece about the creator, and one is an actual legit docu-series about the show and the team. Finally, l grill Lori about her new podcast “Chillin’ With Ice”. We nerd out a little about podcasting in general, and then she explains why she started a podcast, and what she hopes to share with her listeners. I had so much fun with “Ice” that I can’t imagine she won’t come back on to discuss season two!
Joey Canyon & Kelly Kantz – Co-Founders of Canyon Star TV
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Joey Canyon & Kelly Kantz
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Joey Canyon and Kelly Kantz. Joey is a singer songwriter who began his country music career in the mid 1970’s. Having made a name for himself throughout the decades, he was even inducted into the Colorado Country Music Hall of Fame in 2021. Kelly is a serial television executive; having helped launch several networks including: RFDTV, BizTalk Radio, BizTv, and U2 America. In this episode, we get to know a little of the back story of these two pro’s, and then we get into why they decided to team up to launch an all-new streaming service called Canyon Star TV. We discuss the need for a family friendly streaming service where you don’t have to be nervous about what might appear on the screen in front of your small children. Joey & Kelly explain the styles of programming that are available on Canyon Star TV, such as: documentaries, classic films, classic TV, sports, cooking, and even music videos and concerts. Joey & Kelly also put out the call for MORE programming. So, if YOU have a project that you would like to be added to their growing list of programming; they explain just how to submit for consideration. Canyon TV is a FREE app that is available on every device with a screen. You can download the app on the Apple App Store, Google Play, Roku, Chrome, and more.
Laura Casselman – CEO (JVZoo) / Author (Trust Your Increments)
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Laura Casselman
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Laura Casselman. Laura had a dream at the age of 3 to become a Radio City Rockette. Fast forward 20 years, and a lot of hard work…. SHE DID IT! In this episode we chat about how this was even possible, and what she decided to do after her Rockette career ended. Laura is currently the CEO of JVZoo, co-founder of VidaStreet, and co-founder of Hestla Trades. She explains what all of these entities are, and what they do. Of course, we discuss Laura’s new book Trust Your Increments: How Small, Consistent Steps Can Lead to Massive Success. Along the way, we discuss what it is like for women in the workforce, and what both men & women can do to help make things a little more equal in that area. Laura shares the absolute worst job-related story I have ever heard, and we talk about how to move on from something like that. She shares some tips on how to reframe some of life’s jealous moments into some of life’s inspirational ones. Plus, Laura explains the difference between ‘Work / Life Balance” and “Work / Life Harmony”.