Jeff Stevens Creative

“This podcast is an exercise in not being perfect” says recovering perfectionist Ken Calcaterra. Amen brother. Fresh off his documentary Emmy, video storyteller, podcast host and my buddy Ken Calcaterra and I interviewed each other just for kicks. We determine: Larry deserves as much as Bono – Old guys still want to rock – Creative’s wouldn’t be hurt by taking some basic business classes - Never give up and try new shit – Which metal track works for a beer commercial - recovering perfectionism is manifesting itself, The band The Death, Javier Mendoza and our respective start ups. Enjoy! The Documentary that won the Emmy http://kencalcaterra.com/pedaling-to-stop-pushing-winner-mid-america-emmy-2016/ The Hard Rock Life http://kencalcaterra.com/its-a-hard-rock-life-teaser-2015/

McAnallen and Son. When you meet Ray McAnallen, he’s one of those guys you don’t forget. Cigar, beard, Hawaiian shirt, that certain swagger – is he a private eye in a Carl Hiasson book? A Lost Jimmy Buffet keyboardist who missed the tour bus? Nope, Ray is a St. Louis Ad man. And what you see is what you get with Ray - he’s been part of the St. Louis ad scene for 30 plus years. From his days as an art director at the height of D’Arcy to his current run with Ad Savants, Ray possesses that always enthusiastic vibe and quick laugh that you can tell brings real fun to insanity of the ad biz. His son Max not only joined him for the cast, but also has started his own career in the scene, coming up in HR none the less, but now has found his way into the new St. Louis creative endeavor, Startups. The guys talk about their father/son relationship, what it was like growing up in a household run by a “creative”, advice on keeping it real, and getting ready for the upcoming Agency Jam. Enjoy.

Content, motion, sound and swagger. Antidote is the remedy to rock. Michael Francis and Ryan Bury started their production studio 8 years ago. It was small and scrappy and defined by a peculiar little space and very good work. They’ve since grown up and grown out. With a vast and beautiful new space, new look and feel and a fresh sensibility they’ve made their bones and are now comfortably occupying the “Heavy Hitter” category in town. Simply put, they’ve arrived. I caught up with the duo to talk about their current state of creation and reflect a little on what they’ve built together and where they are headed in the future. They’re feeling so plucky in fact that they’ve decided to bring the Agency Jam back – The one where every agency in town puts a band together, designs posters and t-shirts and then battles it out for supreme bragging rights of rock and design chops. September 14th – mark your calendars. The Reel https://vimeo.com/219936318 Music by Flaming Death Trap

Fathers Day Special – Cbabi Bayoc takes on the art of being a dad. Cbabi Bayoc's artistic work mixes caricature, realism, portraiture, and compassionate observation to create an important and remarkable narrative of the African American family experience. In fact, a few years ago he painted a finished work every day for a year on the subject of fatherhood. Throw in the fact that he and his wife run an incredibly successful and delicious bakery, café and studio called Sweet Art, and Cbabi is an artist who has harnessed his creativity for social change and sweet commerce. Jeff sat down with Cbabi to talk about where he learned his craft, his Prince album cover experience, and how his name change to Cbabi (Creative Black Artist Battling Ignorance)in college gave him his life’s mission. Have a listen and enjoy! http://sweetartstl.com/index.php/about/meet-cbabi

Recovering Creative Director. Chris Aguirre leads the Recovery Revolution. After nearly 20 years of sobriety and a few years out of the ad business, Chris Aguirre found himself at the point in his life where something had to give. His own battle with depression and social anxiety mixed with a creative’s dark cynicism had pushed him out of the ad business. Worse, it kept him out of ‘the rooms’ as it were, so there was no where to take this sudden desire to give back to those still battling their demons. So he started Since Right Now (sincerightnow.com/), a highly evolved brand that has become one of the authoritative voices (and by far the best looking) in challenging the old thinking that stigmatized those in recovery. Since it’s inception 3 years ago, the site has featured interviews, musings, articles, poetry, art, music, comics, merch and wisdom from a venerable who’s who in the space and one theme is woven throughout – the link between getting sober and finding your creativity. With a possible printe

Check out the Schwinn Varsity Trailer here. NSFW. https://vimeo.com/213769266 Summer, 1977. Two teenage boys set out on a bicycle journey in an epic search for freedom, America, and a dumpster full of discarded Porno mags. A little "Stand By Me", a little "Dazed and Confused" and a Whole Lotta Love, writer/producer Richard Eschenroeder has had "Schwinn Varsity" in some stage of development for 15 years. Jen and I caught up with him and got the story behind the project and the passion it took to keep it alive over time and distance. The idea is an homage to the classic film "Easy Rider", and the trailer was made right here in STL. It's a beautiful piece of work. Put the Pedal to the Metal and check it out. Music by Flaming Death Trap.

“There’s these two knuckleheads on the couch telling the editors what to do, that’s when I realized I wanted to be one of those guys," says Joe Bishop on the moment he realized he wanted to be an agency creative. Since then he and his compadres have been creating some of the more famous and infamous (Quadracorn!) work to come out of the St. Louis agency scene. Joe talks to Jeff and Jen about getting his start doing memorial videos for the recently deceased, being asked to find his own way out during his first interview and the advanced metrics of casino barge level in judging the effectiveness of a campaign. And we offer our opinion on when exactly agency creatives will be replaced by artificial intelligence (next Thursday). Enjoy! Quadracorn Spot: http://www.welovead.com/en/works/details/4e1DirrC Shoutouts: AntidoteSTL! and Flaming Death Trap!

Talent Plus turns 40. “I still love doing this,” says Sharon Tucci, which is not at all surprising if you've spent any time around her. Her daily enthusiasm, real generosity and natural ability to listen and connect have made her one of the true cultural icons of our city. In every era since she opened her doors in 1977, Sharon has been on trend and totally relevant across the creative and artistic scene in St. Louis. Jen and I have been trying to get her to agree to an interview for over a year and we finally cajoled her. After all, she’s much more comfortable behind the scenes, making deals for her clients. We talk about her start and the early days of Talent Plus, the 70’s CWE scene, and then a little music, models, film, fashion, super souling and the TP future. Enjoy! http://www.talentpl.us/ Thanks to Antidote for partnering on the Podcast - Go see the new space - http://www.antidotestl.com/ Music by Flaming Death Trap

Keep Fast Company. Jon Maurice has the Need for Speed. With the new show, Speed is the New Black, coming to Velocity in May and Fast N’ Loud roaring into it’s 10th season, Jon Maurice and his No Coast cohorts have made plenty of noise in reality TV. Now they’ve turned their sights into using this model to creates hits and build audiences for brands. As part of our Badass series, Jon drops by to talk with Jeff and Jen about having success from learning to fail, making commerce with your art and using St. Louis as the backdrop for the new show. This podcast sponsored by Creative Circle. http://nocoastoriginals.com A bit on the new show http://artofgears.com/2016/12/31/speed-is-the-new-black-to-air-in-2017-on-velocity/ Music by Jon's son Anthony of Flaming Death Trap

This podcast sponsored by Creative Circle! Kicking off our Badass series, Jen and I wanted to interview creative types who are in their prime and knocking it out of the park. Leslie Bogosian fits that bill. Sharp, fearless, the consummate idea driven art director, we talk to Leslie about the workings of the modern creative team, badass women in the creative department and her recent dive into motherhood. Check her out: https://www.schadbogo.com/ https://www.instagram.com/schadbogo/ Music by Flaming Death Trap

Meet Michael Weiss, VP Marketing of Creative Circle and lifelong story teller. From being a Musician, Script Reader, PA to Roseanne and Tom, Author, Digital Agency Owner, and then to Creative Circle, Michael brings a unique perspective and eclectic mix of experience to the creative talent agency game. Jen and Jeff talk to Michael about the new paradigm of the gig economy, the power of Eruption and the energy of ideas that move you. Here's a link to his book on Presentation Skills: http://a.co/7SfOKo3 TED talk Moments of Note: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0NWPke3gsw&t=839s Eddie Van Halen's Eruption: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI7XiJgt0vY music by Flaming Death Trap

This episode sponsored by Creative Circle! Tom Townsend is a Creative Director's Creative Director. Constantly curious, he is interested in everything and has built a career based on the integrity of great work. Yet, he has done arguably done most meaningful work since he left the agency he co-founded. Tom has brought to life his dream of giving Pianos to People who can't afford them. The idea: a passion for music can be a great equalizer. Get involved at http://pianosforpeople.org/ He has also led in the creation of the A-Town Get Down, his Savannah GA music and arts festival named for his son Alex, who died in a car accident at the age of 21, but who's life was one of creativity and encouragement to those around him. The festival is Tom's living creation and inspiration, a true lesson in making something beautiful out of something tragic. Enjoy our great talk with Tom. Check it out - One of my favs, Cracker is headlining! http://a-towngetdown.com/

Getting a truly meaningful insight to create from is often more valuable than the idea that comes from it. Bob Cuneo figured that out 15 some odd years ago as a Creative Director watching his work get murdered in the graveyard of a poorly run focus group. So he decided to start his own insight driven strategic agency. And over time, they've become one of the best in the world at helping clients find that ever valuable insight into the human condition. Jen and Jeff talk to Bob about his journey both through the marketing world of St. Louis and his travels around Planet Earth. One insight we learned: Nashville might need more hot lesbians. Enjoy. Sponsored by Creative Circle https://www.creativecircle.com/ Music by Flaming Death Trap

"The people that got into the marijuana business are the same kinds of people that own bars. Risk takers, storied personalities and extremely fun to hang out with," notes this week's guest Jack Thorwegen in what could easily be a description of himself. As the kick-off to our Legends series, our new co-host Jennifer Oertli and I sit down and talk to Jack about Proof, Pot, Beer, Spirits, Zip and the importance of your agency's first hire. Enjoy. This Stickup is brought to you by Creative Circle! https://www.creativecircle.com/ http://theproofagency.com/ Music by Flaming Death Trap

Everybody’s Angel Investor. Laura Burkemper knows the start-up hustle. In fact, she might be the busiest woman in the St. Louis Start up game. She’s a lead mentor in Stadia Ventures, a big part of the Billiken Angel Network, teaches entrepreneurship at SLU and has helped create an impressive portfolio of investments, strategic vision and bottom line results. Over time, she’s learned how to pick ‘em. She and Jeff talk about the St. Louis Start up community, why it’s better than other comparable cities and when to bet on the jockey and not the horse. Check out these links. http://www.stadiaventures.com/ http://www.billikenangels.com/ Music by Flaming Death Trap

How's your novel coming? If you are one of the half million or so crazy would be writers out there who are trying to finish your novel in 30 days as part of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) you've got one day left to finish off your 50,000 word masterpiece! Or in my case, a 50,000 car pile up. But it's done and I have Kelly Jones to thank for the experience. She got caught up in NaNo some 10 years ago and has participated in it ever since. She also did her thesis on it's power to bring creatives together to create something with no inherent reward attached to it. I told her we do that sort of thing everyday. Find out how NaNo brings out the writers in all of us. Thanks Kelly, and we will see everyone again next November! http://nanowrimo.org/ http://www.marissameyer.com/ (A NaNo Star)

Daniel Wiseman, Creative Director, is one of the founders of Pixel Press. With the recent Mattel Toy deal, this startup looks like it's really taking off. Daniel tells Jeff about the founding of the company, getting to design a game for Cartoon Network, and the ups and downs of doing a start up in St. Louis. Check out Daniels amazing work here. http://www.danieldraws.com/ http://www.projectpixelpress.com/ http://www.bloxelsbuilder.com/ https://vimeo.com/114086604 - Adventure Time Game https://www.instagram.com/d_wiseman/

Jeremy Corray, Defender of the St. Lunaverse! Jeremy talks! He and Jeff chat about his brave new world with Coolfire Studios, his being able to live a childhood dream and work on Voltron, the early funny stuff and how he sees the future of content studios. And a whole lot more! Every Thirty Seconds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2PRsoyLnaU Music by Flaming Death Trap

We say all politics is local and I believe it. As much as the always-on-eleven-reality show the current presidential campaign has become, it’s the decisions of the city and the neighborhoods we live in that will actually have far greater effects on our daily existence. Kacey works for US Bancorp in the Community Development Corporation and co-chairs a coalition led by Urban Land Institute in partnership with Forward Through Ferguson, aimed at community development goals in the Ferguson Commission report. Kacey and Jeff talk about how governments use tax credits get private money to develop affordable housing for the public good, the dynamics of Racial Equity and what is at stake in next years St. Louis Mayors Race. http://forwardthroughferguson.org/ Here's the link to the anti racism training firm we talk about. http://crossroadsantiracism.org/

The Real Mad Man. Jon Hamm is figuring out exactly how to change your mind. WPP decided the world needed another global activation shop. So it cobbled together three or four of its agency chains with offices and staffs and cultures from all over the world and named the new entity Geometry. Then they went out and got somebody crazy enough to pull it all together. Jon Hamm, mentor and friend, has made a career of being able to see and articulate where the business needs to move in order to add real value for clients. And he's got a big task ahead of him. Jon tells Jeff about his first year at Geometry and how the agency is mixing the science of consumer behavior with the exact moments we are most likely to change our mind. Of course we also chat about how he came up in London as a PA at RSA, started producing films, then started the digital shop Green Room and wound his way to big time agency head. Enjoy. PS - Thanks for the tea Philip.