Self-proclaimed "pop star for dorks" Geoff Ong stopped by for a fascinating conversation about funk guitar, racial profiling, his journey establishing his music career and the making of his brilliant music videos.  Check out his videos on YouTube and enjoy the conversation!

Don't Give Up Your Day Job's Podcast

Episode #124 Geoff Ong

Caitlin Smith is one of New Zealand’s local music legends.  Being a professional musician is challenging enough, but if you’re also a blind, female, jazz singer, with a big personality and an honest heart, it’s a rollercoaster.  Caitlin talks candidly about her experiences in the business, her struggles with addiction and mental health and the psychology of singing and performance.  This is a funny and thought-provoking episode.  Enjoy.  

Episode #123 Caitlin Smith

Organising and promoting gigs!  One of the biggest challenges a musician has to face is how to manage and promote their own shows.  We certainly don&apos;t claim to have all the answers, but recently Bobby Kennedy organised and promoted a show for Opshop and Gorilla Biscuit in Christchurch and back in March, I promoted our first Noise Play show.  Bobby suggested we get together and compare notes, so that&apos;s what we did.  We would love to hear your thoughts and experiences too, so feel free to email and comment!

Episode #122 Bobby & Danny talk promoting gigs!

Beatbox champion Steven Crooks only discovered beatboxing a few years ago and ever since his life has drastically changed. Finding purpose, identity and clarity through his craft, Steven quickly became the national champion and is now a co-organiser of the Beatbox Championships. On this episode we talk about Stevens life, the positive impact beatboxing had on him and his plans to continue growing the beatbox community here in New Zealand. This is an honest and inspiring chat. 

Episode #121 Steven Crooks

Ekko Park drummer Nick Douch drops in for a fun conversation about all things music.  We talk bands, drummers, getting started in the business as well as Nicks journey from Te Awamutu to being a professional touring drummer and drum tutor.  Nick’s a great example of how it should be done.  Great guy, great chat.

Episode #120 Nick Douch

Actor, writer and director Tim Balme has had a full and varied career.  His work has included Braindead, Shortland Street, Outrageous Fortune, Mercy Peak, The Almighty Johnsons and his current project The Brokenwood Mysteries.   We chatted about how Tim got his start in acting, working with Peter Jackson, how he approaches his craft and his experience stripping!  Great chat!

Episode #119 Tim Balme

Cassandra is a director, playwright and performer, and the artistic director of the Wellington-based Red Scare Theatre Company.  She recently directed Single Asian Female and her previous work includes Bloodlines (2014), Long Ago, Long Ago (2015), Ordinary Days (2016), Yellow Face (2017), M&apos;Lady (2017), A New Brain (2017), The Bone Thief (2018), Gutenberg! The Musical! (2018), The Aliens (2019), Four Nights in the Green Barrow Pub (2019) and That’s All She Wrote (2020).  We had a great chat about the ins and outs of putting on stage productions and building a career in the arts.   

Episode #118 Cassandra Tse

Legendary New Zealand drummer Frank Gibson Jnr.  has had an astonishing career and has deservedly earned the upmost respect from his peers.  He’s worked with a long list of artists including Shona Lang, Diana Krall, Joe Henderson, Leo Sayer, John Scofield, Dusty Springfield, The Temptations and Glen Campbell.  He’s dedicated, grounded and an all-round good guy.  It was a thrill to talk to him. 

Episode #117 Frank Gibson Jnr.

Mike Chunn needs no introduction.  He played in Split Enz and Citizen Band, he was the director for APRA NZ, he founded and still runs Play It Strange, he&apos;s been a loud voice for many important subjects including mental health and the need for music to be given a higher priority in New Zealand culture.  This was an exhilarating chat. There was laughter, there were tears and we even wrote a song.  Get on it!

Episode #116 Mike Chunn

Drummer & Producer Greg Haver returns to the show to talk about his recent review of certain areas of the music industry and to discuss the new producers funding initiative called The New Music Development Scheme.  We have a good laugh while tackling some hotly debated subjects.  Dig in. 

Episode #115 Greg Haver

Joe & Danny get drunk.  Joe Walsh is constantly touring with Jordan Luck Band and his own band Ekko Park.  Almost two years ago Joe was sitting on a completed Ekko Park album (Horizon) that hadn&apos;t yet been released.  In the lead up Joe suggested we record an episode with a focus on the lyrics and back story to the album and in true Irish style, we met at the pub for a pre-recording drink.  Five Guinness each later we Ubered back to the studio, opened a bottle of red and fell backwards into an honest, funny and meaningful conversation.  We saved the episode for a future release and here we are.  Join us for a drink!Photo credit: David Dunham

Episode #114 Joe Walsh

Our guest is Alex Leighton, one of the creators and directors of New Zealand&apos;s premiere 2D animation studio Mukpuddy.  We spoke to Alex and his business partner Ryan Cooper a few years ago about their then new show Barefoot Bandits and now Alex returns to talk about their brand new show &apos;The Adventures Of Tumeke Space&apos; which has just launched on TVNZ OnDemand.  We have a very real and honest chat about the good, the bad and the Jelly.  You’ll know what I mean when you get to it! 

Episode #113 Alex Leighton

Episode #112 is now available! Our guest is Barnaby Weir.  Barnaby leads two of New Zealand’s most popular bands (The Black Seeds and Fly My Pretties) and we had a great chat about life/work balance, his childhood, his creative process and the rise of The Black Seeds and the Wellington Reggae / Dub scene.  Barnaby is a kind and thoughtful guy and this turned out to be a really interesting conversation.  Enjoy!

Episode #112 Barnaby Weir

In the 1990s Christchurch based drummer Jason Peters and his band Pumpkinhead became a popular touring act with a loyal following and more than their fair share of Rock n Roll stories.  In more recent times Jason has been making music with Hunt The Witch and Kong Fooey and recently organised a series of tribute shows for the late, great Aaron Tokona.  This was a fun chat.  Enjoy! 

Episode #111 Jason Peters

In keeping with tradition we&apos;re opening 2021 with a chat between myself and our shows cofounder Bobby Kennedy.  This episode also features a short interview by Emme Lentino, with myself and Dan Antunovich.  Good times!

Episode #110 Bobby Kennedy, Emme Lentino & Dan Antunovich

Don’t Give Up Your Day Job is a podcast series from kiwi musicians Bobby Kennedy and Danny McCrum.The idea of this podcast is to give people an insight into the real workings of the careers of creative professionals. The fact is creative professionals are fascinating characters who have had to work very hard and overcome many personal and professional obstacles. They are dedicated, multi-talented people who make great sacrifices and take great risks and we think this is worth celebrating.So join us as we chat to musicians, producers, actors, artists, engineers and others about their professional and personal stories.

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Don't Give Up Your Day Job's Podcast

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