Episode Two Recap

On Wednesday, January 27, the 2nd episode of All in the Reflexes went live! My special guests were the amazing trio of Kyle, James, and Logan from the pop-punk band Terribly Happy.

You can watch the show in its entirety here, and it's most definitely worth checking out!

But for those of you more limited in time, let me recap my five favorite moments from episode two, presented to you here in nice bite-sized portions!






The above clip comes from our round of "fill in the musical lyrics" trivia. James provided my absolute favorite answer, and I'll never forget it! "Party Rock is in the BUILDING tonight." Thanks for the laughs :)






In the above clip, you get to see Kyle imitate Logan in a Whose Line style improv game. James, as someone possessed by the devil is great, too. But the look on Logan's face when he figures out that Kyle is impersonating him: Priceless!




One of the reasons I enjoy working with these guys is because it's so clear the enjoy working with one another. In this Q & A about the band, Logan says something very meaningful: they're friends first and band mates second, and that's why they work so well together.






And of course, don't forget to preview their new song, officially releasing on Valentine's Day!

What can you do now?

I'd love for you to give Terribly Happy a like on their Facebook page HERE! Plus, visit their Bandcamp site to listen to their music.

I'd love it also if you followed me on my Facebook page where I'll post updates about my writing projects and upcoming All in the Reflexes episodes! You can also subscribe to my NEW exclusive newsletter-- you'll be the first to hear about upcoming guests and get a chance to win prizes every single month! Just go to my website and fill out the form.

All in the Reflexes is a LIVE talk show hosted by author & professor Joe Chianakas. The purpose of the show is to talk to cool people doing cool things. You can apply to be a guest here. 

What's All in the Reflexes?

It’s a question that is destined to come up every time I do a show: What the heck is All in the Reflexes?

GO HERE TO WATCH THE SHOW!

So, here’s a summary for you.

It’s a live talk show that I’m streaming on the web. I want to focus, initially, on central Illinois guys and girls doing incredible things. We’ll talk about life’s passions, we’ll play games, and we’ll chat about pop culture. It’s a grab bag of fun, but the focus will be on a person or persons from our community doing cool stuff.

Episode one featured ICC student and motivational speaker, Ruben Ramirez. Episode two will feature local pop-punk band, Terribly Happy—Logan Kiesewetter, Kyle Hamon, and James Wylie.

The shows air the second and fourth Wednesday of each month. I’ve been inspired by lots of things—like podcasts—but I wanted to put my own spin and twist on it. So it’s a webcam show, and it’s LIVE. You can always watch it later, too, but there’s something special about live shows, don’t you think? Anything can happen, and there’s no editing!

Why am I doing this? I like connecting with people. I'm a communication professor-- it's kind of my thing! I’m also an author with his first book on the shelves. It’s called Rabbit in Red, and it’s an exciting first story in a horror trilogy. The web show allows me to connect with more interested and interesting people! You can learn more about Rabbit in Red here.

What can you do if you’re interested? I hope you’ll do a few things.

1.       Like my page on Facebook HERE. This is where I’ll be posting updates about All in the Reflexes, including the links to each live show, as well as info on some of my other projects.

2.       SUBSCRIBE, please, to THIS YouTube channel. This is where you will be able to find and watch episodes of All in the Reflexes.

3.       APPLY to be a guest. You can do it officially on website HERE. Or, if we already know one another, just shoot me a message on Facebook.

4.       Finally, SUBSCRIBE to my newsletter HERE. Just enter your e-mail on my website. I’ll be sending out info once a month, including the guests that will be featured on All in the Reflexes that month. Plus, you’ll be the first to hear news about upcoming projects, and there will always be prizes to give away. Always. I like prizes.

 

The show will certainly evolve, and I already have many ideas. But for now, I hope you’ll follow, watch, and give some love to cool people from our community.

Thanks.

Here's the Facebook event invite for episode two-- click "JOIN" and you'll get a reminder and any updates about the show!!! CLICK HERE. 

Episode One and a New Newsletter

Last night was the first episode of All in the Reflexes, a live web talk show that I'm hosting twice a month. It was beyond fun! My special guest Ruben Ramirez talked about his passions, including motivational speaking to Tupac and more. He performed Al Pacino's "One Inch" speech from Any Given Sunday. If you don't have time for the whole episode, at least jump to 16:45 to see that.

Check out episode one here!

We end with a silly game where we can only talk in questions with Kayla Fast. I'm amazed at how horribly I did at my own game, but it was fun.

I'm doing this show to talk about people in our community who are doing cool things. Ruben's a student of mine, and I can't help but take a lot of pride in everything he's doing. I hope you'll take a look inside the episode to learn all about him.

The next episode will be Wed Jan 27 with the pop-punk band Terribly Happy! I'll be interviewing the three band members-- Kyle, James, and Logan-- about all sorts of fun topics.

I've also created a new newsletter, and I hope you'll take the time to sign up. I promise not to spam your e-mail. It will be a monthly newsletter sometime during the first week of each month.

I want the first one to be extra special, so I'm giving you all a special short story called "Whispers and Flames!" Yep, giving it away! It takes place in between books one and two in the Rabbit in Red series, and it will give you a teaser of what you can expect from book two.

In addition, I'll use the newsletter to preview each month's guests on All in the Reflexes! Plus, we'll do giveaways and prizes. I've got some awesome new swag on its way right now, and I'm going to give away a swag bag of goodies to a new subscriber, but you'll have to subscribe and read the first newsletter to learn how to win!

Sign up here:

Subscribe here!

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

I'll also make sure subscribers are the FIRST to know about new projects and will receive exclusive content (like book excerpts) that I won't share anywhere else.

I'm excited about the future! I get to interview lots of cool people in All in the Reflexes, and I'm working very hard on the Rabbit in Red series, in hopes that it genuinely becomes one of your favorites.

Thanks for following this journey.

Follow me on Facebook here!

Get the new & improved Amazon e-book of Rabbit in Red here for only $3.99!

And don't forget to subscribe the new newsletter above!

All in the Reflexes

ALL IN THE REFLEXES

I’ve got an exciting new announcement, a new creative endeavor I’m beginning, and I want to announce it here first!

I’m hosting a new online talk show—a LIVE event twice a month that I’m calling “All in the Reflexes.”

Let me tell why I’m doing this, what it’s all about, and a few things I hope you will do to help be a part of it!

THE WHY

I’m a teacher and an author, and these are two unique but not completely disconnected passions. In short, I started thinking about ways to combine my passions.

I have a long list of Facebook friends who are podcasters. That’s wonderful, and I’ve long wanted to do something like that, but I hate to be the 100^th guy you know who is starting his own podcast.

I also have been the guest of different podcasts and radio interviews. My favorite was Jim Sullivan’s Poets’ Voices. Sullivan is a colleague of mine, and he devoted each of his episodes to a different writer. He’s a writer himself, but his show was devoted to others. A lot of the shows I enjoy may feature interviews, but they also are largely about the hosts’ thoughts and passions. Nothing wrong with that, but I don’t want to be the last guy to that party.

So I started thinking: what else could I do besides a podcast or a blog (like this) or even a video blog? How annoyed have you been when you search for a song or something on YouTube only to find an obnoxious face talking to you about that song? I don’t want to be that guy, either.

So put all of the above together:

1. I have a talent in communication that I want to expand on and do more with outside of the classroom.

2. I want to do a program that features OTHERS, other people with great passions and talents that I would enjoy discussing. I could use my social media reach and author platforms to share their stories with my audience.

3. I want to do something that’s NOT a podcast, blog, or just me talking into my webcam.

THE RESULT

A LIVE VIDEO TALK SHOW!

Each episode I do will stream LIVE through YouTube. You’ll be able to watch them later, but I love the live component. No editing, no do-overs, just fun and LIVE discussion!

The show will feature a new guest each episode. Initially, I want to highlight college students that I’ve had the privilege to work with. I want to talk about their passions and talents, and give them a medium in which to speak about such things.

The show will be a mix of serious to silly. Ideally, each episode will feature a serious discussion, a silly/obnoxious game that we will do LIVE that will probably go horribly wrong, a fun discussion on something pop culture related, and more.

You’ll be able to comment during the show, and we’ll be able to see and read your comments LIVE each episode. I’ll have games and prizes to give away for anyone who is watching, too!

Sound fun? I hope so!

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Lots of things!

Want to be a guest? Go here and fill out the form on my website. Know someone who would make a good guest? Tell them about it!

WATCH! You can start by subscribing to my YouTube channel HERE. And of course—follow me on Facebook HERE. Links will go live when we’re on-air! You can RSVP to THIS FACEBOOK EVENT so you get a reminder of when the show launches. 

SHARE! Share this blog article. I’ve got about 24 days till the first episode. If you see things like the Facebook event invite and other stories, share and invite your friends!

What I love about technology today is that it gives any of us this power, so let’s share some love and take a moment to learn about the passionate and talented people we have in our own community!

THE FIRST EPISODE

The show starts Wednesday January 13, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. Central. My first guest is a current student of mine at Illinois Central College, Ruben Ramirez. Ruben will be taking his fourth college class with me next semester. (Yes, you can feel sorry for him, ha!)

I met Ruben in COMM 110, an introductory COMM course in the fall of 2014. He’s a motivating and talented young man with quite a unique back story and several diverse passions. Since that first class, Ruben has enrolled in almost every class I’ve taught, and we’ve gone beyond the classroom in our lessons. Ruben has accompanied me at motivational programs at several area schools. He wants to be a motivational speaker, and he will make a perfect first guest on this show.

I’ll be writing more about Ruben before the first episode, so keep an eye out for that post.

Ruben speaking to East Peoria High students.

ALL IN THE REFLEXES

Like the name of my book Rabbit in Red, the name of this show is also a pop culture reference to one of my favorite movies. It will likely be a (rather easy) viewer trivia question during the first episode. But it also fits the theme perfectly. LIVE shows require a good back and forth, a good “reflex” for discussion.

I hope you’ll tune in to see what we come up with!

FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK!

SUBSCRIBE TO THE YOUTUBECHANNEL!

APPLY TO BE A GUEST!