The Good Rascals
By Kevin Del Principe
The Good RascalsFeb 12, 2024
Ep 21 Ali Cheff - Ali Cheff Shares How To Facilitate “Being Enough”
What posture can best help people see their tremendous value? Ali Cheff (actor, voiceover actor, and a humanitarian clown) talks to Kevin about how to be present and engage those who are suffering. Ali also talks about their love of telling stories.
Ep 20 Kris Coleman - The Power of "Pushing the Envelope" and "Don't Want To Go Nights"
What style of thinking leads to more opportunities? Kris Coleman (comedian, AKA Comedian Big Daddy Ice) talks to Kevin about the mentality that's been generating positive results for him in his personal life and professionally. Kris chats about "pushing the envelope" in his comedy and how good things happen on "don't want to go nights" when he shows up anyway for a gig. Kris and Kevin also talk about how they met when Kevin was Kris' theater teacher in high school and how Kris became involved in comedy.
Source/Mention/Resource:
Article/Interview: "George Carlin" in The A.V. Club
Ep 19 Suzy Hollenbach - Do Not Look Away, and Do Good When You Can
What should we do when we see suffering? Suzy Hollenbach (Founder of the non-profit animal rescue organization All 4s Rescue League) chats with Kevin about what she's seeing in the Memphis neighborhoods that need the most support. She also shares how her work with All 4s Rescue League started.
Source/Mention/Resource:
Book -The World We Have: A Buddhist Approach to Peace and Ecology by Thich Nhat Hanh
Ep 18 Murray Warburton - Drawing Meaning From Adversity and Leaning Into Difficulty To Grow
How can we make sense of the things in life that feel absurd? Murray Warburton (animator, editor, and filmmaker) chats with Kevin about how he's striving to tell an animated story about the war in Ukraine based on his experience being in a relationship with his girlfriend, who is from Ukraine. Murray and Kevin also discuss how difficult situations can lead to personal growth. *Murray's animation about Ukraine is now shifting into a different project concerning Ukraine. *This episode was initially recorded on April 30th, 2022.
Source/Mention/Resource:
Book - A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders
Ep 17 Rollence Patugan - Shining a Light on What Should Be Evident: People Have Value
Is art required to remind us things that we ought to already know? Rollence Patugan (photographer and college teacher) chats with Kevin about his artistic motivations. Kevin also shares a story about how Rollence gave him one of his photographs during a challenging time in his life.
Sources/Mentions/Resources:
Article - "At War with the Obvious"
Short Story - "The Bully"
Ep 16 Aris Lanaridis - The Beautiful Music of Empathy: And the Power of Perseverance
Ep 15 Katherine E. Lewis - Family and Place: Rewriting the Rules
Source/Mention: The Naked Now by Richard Rohr
Ep 14 Megan Murtha - Blue-Collar Art: Making the Process the Point
The Good Rascals host Kevin Del Principe interviews Megan Murtha (playwright, director, composer, and professor). Megan and Kevin share their experiences growing up in West Seneca, NY and how their hometown had an impact on their artistic practices. Megan explains how she is focusing on cultivating a supportive, community-conscious process in her art as well as alternative ways she can use her art to positively engage with the world.
Source: Check out Richard Rohr’s meditation in which artist and author Christine Valters Paintner’s concept of receiving pictures rather than taking them was mentioned
Here’s her book: Christine Valters Paintner, Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice (Sorin Books: 2013).
Ep 13 Kyndle Wylde - This is the Work: Tell Your Story to Encourage Others
The Good Rascals host Kevin Del Principe interviews Kyndle Wylde (musician, singer, & songwriter). Kyndle explains how she learned to listen to her inner voice to tell her own story on her debut EP, Kyndle Wylde. Kyndle and Kevin both share stories from their youth where they felt on the outside of things and how these experiences led them to have greater empathy for others. At the end of the podcast, the audience can listen to a clip from Kyndle's single "Like You Used To."
Ep 12 Mark Blaszak - Life Advice: When Asked to Play the Bass, Say Yes Even if You Don't Play the Bass
The Good Rascals host Kevin Del Principe interviews his long-standing friend and creative partner Mark Blaszak (entrepreneur, business owner, videographer, cinematographer, storyteller, & co-founder of Uplifter Video). Mark and Kevin chat about how they became friends in high school by playing in a band and how their creative partnership has continued all these years--most recently by working together on the movie Up on the Glass. They also chat about the importance of storytelling. Mark explains how his love of storytelling brought him to leave a corporate job and start his own business.
Ep 11 Matt Chavanne - Hit the Snare a Little Louder: Duality, Unity, & Community
The Good Rascals host Kevin Del Principe interviews his friend/cousin Matt Chavanne (lighting designer, electrical engineer, musician/drummer for Humble Braggers). Matt and Kevin chat about their upbringing and how they've become closer over the years. Matt describes maintaining a career that is both technical and creative and how there is unity between these concepts that are often inaccurately described as oppositional. He also shares a clip of the latest single from his band Humble Braggers entitled, "I'll Keep Running." *In the podcast, Kevin mentions a concept about supporting others articulated by Dave Chapelle in his comedy special, "The Bird Revelation."
Ep 10 Rob Currin - Do Not Mess with the Library: Competition, Inspiration, & Creation
The Good Rascals host Kevin Del Principe interviews his longtime friend Rob Currin (teacher, coach, creative). Rob and Kevin chat about how their friendship began while rallying for the local public library. Rob explains the nexus between competition, inspiration, and creation. *The three books whose ideas I mentioned in the podcast were Making Movies by Sidney Lumet, Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life by Richard Rohr, and The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective by Richard Rohr and Andreas Ebert.
Ep 9 Jon Hornyak - Finding Freedom and People to Show the Way
The Good Rascals host Kevin Del Principe interviews his friend and neighbor Jon Hornyak (musician, entrepreneur, Sr. Executive Director of the Memphis Chapter at the Recording Academy). Jon explains the importance of mentorship in his multi-faceted music career, and how the Recording Academy now has mentorship programs. He also shares how Memphis provided him creative freedom as well as people who showed him the way along his music and business journey.
Ep 8 Gerry Trentham - Body Awareness and the Benefit of Being Taken Down to Zero
The Good Rascals host Kevin Del Principe interviews his friend Gerry Trentham (dancer, choreographer, Artistic Director of pounds per square inch performance, teacher). Gerry shares how increasing body awareness allows for a greater sense of both pleasure and pain. He also chats about how certain questions can bring a person to zero, but at that place there is a hidden spine that can be discovered.
Ep 7 Ellen Rolfes - Adversity is a Gift: Being in It but Not of It
The Good Rascals host Kevin Del Principe interviews his friend and neighbor Ellen Rolfes (entrepreneur, storyteller, philanthropy strategist). Ellen shares how listening to her inner voice has guided her own story and allowed her to help others tell their stories too. Rather than perceived burdens, Ellen details how adversity and fears can be tremendous gifts that can lead to new possibilities.
Ep 6 Jim Thurston - Mutual Respect, Gratitude, and Being Good Not Knowing Everything
The Good Rascals host Kevin Del Principe interviews his long-time friend Jim Thurston (carpenter, creative, co-owner of CWT Builders, farmer) about what qualities allow a friendship to endure. Jim and Kevin talk about their college days and discover a new gratitude for the difficulties they experienced and also those mentors who saw them through.
Go to the CWT Builders Facebook Page for more info about Jim's construction company.
Check out the Thurston Family Farm for amazing maple syrup and to learn more about the multigenerational farm that has been in Jim's family for over six decades.
Ep 5 Derek Diamond - Reciprocity, Resiliency, and Relatability
The Good Rascals host Kevin Del Principe chats with Derek Diamond (podcast host and filmmaker) about why Derek first created his podcast and how his rationale has evolved over time. Derek explains how sharing one's own stories about overcoming adversity can help others foster their own resiliency.
Check out Derek's podcast for great film and TV content and interviews with industry creatives at The Derek Diamond Experience.
Ep 4 Keith Del Principe - Passion, Planting Seeds, and Passing the Torch
The Good Rascals host Kevin Del Principe talks with his brother Keith Del Principe (artist, ecologist and animator) about how Keith developed a meditative practice to rewire his mind and better connect to his body in order to create art and pursue a "greatness" that he says is inside all of us.
Along with his partner, bekky O'Neil, Keith is the owner of Cardboard Reality, a permaculture farm, boutique shop, and animation studio.
Ep 3 David Ngo - Living in a Sliver
The Good Rascals host Kevin Del Principe chats with his good friend David Ngo (writer, filmmaker, college teacher, and podcast host of the Best Story I Never Told) about David feeling like an outsider growing up and how that feeling has continued even today. David shares about living in between multiple worlds/cultures, and how he has learned the importance of deep listening, communication, and creating space for people to share their stories through creating his podcast.
Ep 2 Jared Hernandez - Having Diverse Interests and a Little Bit of Grace
The Good Rascals host Kevin Del Principe chats with Jared Hernandez (writer, musician, visual artist) about having diverse creative passions. Kevin also chats with Jared about his feeling a little on the outside of a church experience as a teenager and young man, and how it taught him to give people a little bit of grace.
Ep 1 Nikki Del Principe - Holding Tensions: Santa, No Santa, and Finding Poetic Spirituality
The Good Rascals host Kevin Del Principe chats with Nikki Del Principe (writer, producer, actor) about her experience feeling like an outsider growing up and how that has propelled her to reframe old institutions as well as create new institutions to foster constructive meaning for herself and others.