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
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
David Mittelman – PHD / CEO – Othram (DNA Crime Lab)
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David Mittelman
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know David Mittelman. David is a PHD and the CEO of Othram. Othram is a DNA testing lab dedicated to helping law enforcement find the identities of both unknown perpetrators, and un-named victims. In this episode we chat about how he got into the DNA scientist game, and why he started Othram. We also talk about exactly what Othram does, and what goes into their end of helping solve a case. We dive a bit into a couple of the more notable cases that Othram has helped law enforcement solve; including the 46 year old sexual assault and murder of Carla Walker. We end the show explaining exactly what YOU can do to join in the fight to bring names to the nameless with justice through genomics.
Special thanks to my buddy Vincent from Gone Cold (Texas True Crime) Podcast for connecting the two of us.
Follow Othram on social media:
Twit: @OthramTech
See what Othram does: Othram.com
Join in the fight: DNASolves.com
Jax Hollow – Singer / Songwriter / Guitarist
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Jax Hollow.
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Jax Hollow. Jax is a singer / songwriter, and face melting guitarist. In this episode we chat about growing up in rural Massachusetts, moving across the country to go to school in Berkley, and then across the country again to live in Nashville. She tells us why she chose Nashville, and what it was like to have the legendary Michael Wagener produce her first studio album (AVAILABLE THIS FRIDAY!). We discuss the album; and Jax lets me play my favorite track from it. Buckle your seatbelts… this is a great ROCK album!
Special THANK YOU to previous guest and friend of the show Angela Lese for making this happen,
Follow Jax on social media:
Twit: @JaxHollowMusic
Insta: @JaxHollow
FB: Jax Hollow
TikTok: @JaxHollow
Buy the album at: JaxHollow.com
Barry McClain Jr. – Comic Book Artist (Blue Juice / Valiant Comics)
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Barry McClain Jr.
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Barry McClain Jr. Barry is a comic book artist and graphic designer for several publishers including Blue Juice Comics and Valiant Comics. In this episode we chat about how he first got into comics and who showed him how to start drawing characters. (Its not who you think) Then we get into exactly how he was able to get signed to a publisher and was able to finally quit his day job. We discuss several of his projects including: Q Ball, The Accelerators, and Anne Bonnie. We also talk about how influential all of the guys at Tell ‘Em Steve Dave and the I Sell Comics podcasts, and Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash have been.
Follow Barry on social media:
Insta: @Stay_Broke
FB: Barry McClain (Comic book artist)
Carole Baskin – Big Cat Rescue / Tiger King
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Carole Baskin
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Carole Baskin. You know Carole from the 2020 Netflix sensation Tiger King. In this episode we chat about what got her onto her Big Cat saving mission, her experience on Dancing With The Stars, her ex-husband Don Lewis, and her husband Howie. We also talk a bit about Tiger King, Joe Exotic, and her foundation Big Cat Rescue; before closing out the show talking about how you can help save endangered Big Cats, and her organization’s new Oculus Virtual Reality game featuring Big Cats. Enjoy!
Follow Carole on social media:
Twit: @Carole_Baskin
TikTok: @CaroleBaskinCat
FB: Big Cat Rescue
Donate to BCR at: BigCatRescue.org/Donate
Reach out to your congressperson at: BigCatAct.com
Srinivas Rao – Podcaster (The Unmistakable Creative)/ Docuseries Star (Indian Matchmaker)
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Srinivas Rao
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Srinivas Rao. Srini is the CEO and host of The Unmistakable Creative Podcast; as well as having recently appeared on the smash hit Netflix series Indian Matchmaking. In this episode we chat about what it was like growing up in a small Texas town being the only Indian American, We then get into his podcast and his approach to creativity and branding. Finally; we end the show talking about his experience working on the series Indian Matchmaking… why he did it as well as what gained from it.
Check out Srini’s podcast everywhere podcasts are available.
Follow Srini on social media:
Twit: @UnmistakableCEO
Insta: @UnmistakableCEO
His website: Unmistakablecreative.com
James DuMont Returns! – Actor (Safety / The Underground Railroad
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James DuMont RETURNS!
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know even MORE about James Dumont. James is an actor that has appeared in more than 200 television & film roles. In this episode, we chat about the importance of working to better yourself at your craft, his new Disney film Safety, Spencer Confidential on Netflix, and his new Amazon show The Underground Railroad. We talk about Covid, and other things along the way including his online class geared toward actors called: James DuMont’s On Camera Workout On Zoom.
Follow James on social media:
Twit: @JamesKDuMont
Insta: @JamesDuMont
FB: James DuMont
Vyasar Ganesan – Teacher / Docuseries Star (Indian Matchmaker)
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Vyasar Ganesan
Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Vyasar Ganesan. Vyasar is a teacher at a very prestigious high school in Austin, Tx. HOWEVER…. you may ALSO know him as one of the stars of the first season of the smash hit Netflix series Indian Matchmaker! In this episode Vyasar and I chat about growing up as an Indian American in Texas, and why he got into teaching. We spend a short time discussing his stint working for The Food Network in NYC before we get into his time on the Netflix show; why he did it, what his experience was like, and if he would do it again. Vyasar may very well become my new best friend. We had such a great time talking that this could easily have been a 3 hour conversation. What a pulled together nice guy. Seriously, you’re welcome!
Follow Vyasar on social media:
Twit: @NotVyasarG
Check out his writing at: VyasarWrites.com