Bill  Harvey

People talk to me - passionate amazing people from all walks of life share stories with me. I live in the city - in Brooklyn - where a one-block walk to the corner store might take me two hours because people stop me to talk. Whether I am hanging out with musicians, writers, an entrepreneur, elected officials, visual artists, designers, a plumber or an aspiring actor handing out samples in front of a bakery, the conversations are invariably about three things - inspiration, creativity and community, it just happens and I am not sure why. For the past few years I have often thought that more people should hear what I am hearing - the stories, the connections between ideas, people, places and history, stuff you don’t learn in school or read in formalized narratives that have been distilled into topical genres or marketing strategies.

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In the autumn of 2017 when within 24 hours two friends said to me - Bill you should do a podcast.  I was intrigued and challenged and something clicked in my head. A week later I found myself walking over to Harvey Restaurant with a couple microphones and a digital recorder to have a conversation with someone with whom I was vaguely acquainted. And so it began. 

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The concept is simple - talk with amazing people about inspiration, creativity and community.  I love how the conversations unfold in a non-academic way that is truthful and beyond any form. Yes some people are more adept at spinning a tale than others, but no matter, this is reality, it’s what a person is thinking, how they live, and their journey. These stories - although “stories” seems an inadequate descriptor - are unfiltered personal truth. This is not intended for a mass audience, it will appeal to a few people who are thinking about things in a nuanced way - a few willing people who can listen with open ears - it’s not about me broadcasting my point of view. To me, one of the greatest joys is learning from other people. A few people listening deeply is huge.

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I am an artist, a musician, a writer, a parent, a community member - damn if I haven’t done a lot of different things along the road. My old friend the brilliant 20th century art curator Walter Hopps always told me to embrace all my activities as art. The podcasts are performances - people performing themselves - as we shape reality together.