This is a podcast focused on music creation, professional and personal development, the creative process, and the inner workings of my life in music. My name is John O‘Hallaron. I release music under the name Chalk Dinosaur and I work as a freelance composer for television and games.
In this episode I tell the story of Chalk Dinosaur, from the first time I held an instrument all the way to the present time. All of the iterations of Chalk Dinosaur from solo project to full band.
In this episode I have a conversation with Michael Berger, bassist and writer for a Pittsburgh band called The Clock Reads. I would describe their music as a fusion of jazz, jam, funk, and latin. They just released a new album called Gnomon which is the main catalyst for our conversation today. You can find The Clock Reads at the links listed below. Happy New Year! Time to put a new ring in the tree trunk.
http://www.theclockreads.band/
https://theclockreads.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/theclockreads/
On this episode I talk with my friend Sean Howard. If you go to any of the smaller PA music festivals, you've probably seen Sean running sound or lights. I met Sean at a festival called FarmJammaLamma in 2016. He was one of the lighting and sound engineers as well as a performer. In this conversation we talk about his work as a lighting and sound engineer, his band, and the recording studio project he is currently building.
https://www.facebook.com/SHOrchestra/
https://www.facebook.com/soundbarproductions/
In this episode I talk about a bunch of random stuff, both related and unrelated to Chalk Dinosaur. Recent and upcoming performances, reflections, and a bunch of random thoughts.
In this episode I talk about some of my methods and thoughts on mixing.
This episode features songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist Shane McLaughlin of the Pittsburgh folk band Buffalo Rose. In this conversation we talk about songwriting, recording, journaling, and a bunch of other random stuff.
Links:
The River Song (live clip from the beginning of the episode)
In this episode, I share my thoughts on the keys to prolificity and finishing ideas.
In this episode I reflect on the results of my "Lifestyle Design Experiment" in which I observe the following daily practices for one month:
1. Wake up at 4:30am
2. 15 minutes of meditation
3. 3 pages of journaling
4. 1 hour of exercise
5. 1 gallon of water
6. Write tomorrows task list before bed
7. No alcohol, cigarettes or recreational drugs
In a nutshell, I had a remarkably productive month with a significantly higher and more consistent energy level.
In this episode I also talk about the new album, upcoming shows, and future projects.
Links to things referenced in this episode:
New Album - Sunset: https://chalkdinosaur.com/music
New Album - Sunset (AIFF): https://chalkdinosaur.com/product/340142
Mindfulness in Plain English: https://www.amazon.com/Mindfulness-English-Bhante-Henepola-Gunaratana/dp/0861719069/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=mindfulness+in+plain+english&qid=1572187995&sr=8-3
November 1st Show: https://www.facebook.com/events/970980936572262/
November 15th Show: https://www.facebook.com/events/2464105653872118/
This episode welcomes my first podcast guest, Lucas Bowman. Lucas is a classical and jazz pianist who plays keyboard in a Pittsburgh soul-rock band called The Commonheart.
Check out their new album Pressure, available everywhere.
I met Lucas in 2016 and he appears in two Chalk Dinosaur songs: Farm Jam, and Rocket Dude off the album "Chalk Dinosaur and Friends".
He's one of those musicians who is extremely fluent with his instrument and with the language of music as a whole. I have so many more questions to ask him about how he attained his level of proficiency. Hopefully we'll be able to continue this conversation in a future episode.
In this conversation, we talk about tour, recording, performing, balance, and a whole slew of other stuff.
For more on Lucas and The Commonheart, you can check them out on:
In this episode I share my thoughts after 2 weeks of my "Lifestyle Design Experiment" in which I observe the following daily practices:
1. Wake up at 4:30am
2. 15 minutes of meditation
3. 3 pages of journaling
4. 1 hour of exercise
5. 1 gallon of water
6. Write tomorrows task list before bed
7. No alcohol, cigarettes or recreational drugs
Observations:
- Feeling better on less sleep
- Overfilling my task list and need to more accurately estimate the time it will take to finish tasks
- I think I should do the quick tasks first and leave the more open ended tasks for later
- I am really enjoying this structure
- Questions about what's really important here: The consistency of the structure or the specific sleep-wake times? How can I retain the benefits of this system while being flexible enough to meet the often late night demands of my profession?
Also in this episode, I dive into the question of "Does anything really matter?" given the fact that everything will be gone eventually. I've wrestled with this question from time to time, and after sitting with this thought for awhile, I feel like I found a positive outlook on this reality and came to a conclusion that makes sense to me and feels good to me.
I discuss the incredible ripple effect of our actions, and how they can have far reaching effects that we don't anticipate. Both within our own lives, and also beyond ourselves, touching the lives of others. I cite a couple examples from my own life. If you are one of those people who have impacted me in a positive way, thank you. I only named two people in my examples, but there are countless others, and you know who you are. Or maybe you don't. Sometimes we can't see the ripples we make and the people they impact.
