57. Jesse Elliott

The Iowa Idea: Jesse Elliott 

You can’t always get what you want.

In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Jesse Elliott. Jesse is the Director of Creative Ecosystems for CACHE (Creative Arkansas Community Hub & Exchange), is a lifelong champion of collaborative social entrepreneurship, the power of multimedia and storytelling, and inclusive arts and artist resourcing.  He is the founder and songwriter of two rock and roll bands, who released six albums and performed live 1,200 times in a decade, from SXSW and Glastonbury to Lollapalooza and your favorite local dive. A proud graduate of the University of Iowa, Elliott penned books and speeches with economist Richard Florida, helped research and author music strategies for the City of Denver and the State of Colorado, and served Bohemian Foundation as the founding Director of The Music District.

We talk about his work with economist Richard Florida; the building of creative collaborations and creative ecosystems, and the simple power of collaboration that can be fueled by as little as cheap pizza and cold beer. We dig into the early days of the James Gang collaboration, as well as Jesse’s work on Denver’s music strategies, as well as the State of Colorado’s music strategy. We briefly touch on Jack Kerouac’s affinity for Iowa and how he may have mistaken Des Moines for Iowa City.

I encourage you to check out Jesse’s Tedx talk, linked in the episode description, as he talks about music ecosystems and the remixing of community.

It was an honor having Jesse join me on the show. I appreciate how Jesse credits and shares the positive influence that mentors have had on his journey. I Jesse for sharing his time and insights. I hope you enjoy the episode.

About Jesse

Jesse Elliott, Director of Creative Ecosystems for CACHE (Creative Arkansas Community Hub & Exchange), is a lifelong champion of collaborative social entrepreneurship, the power of multimedia and storytelling, and inclusive arts and artist resourcing.  He is the founder and songwriter of two rock and roll bands, who released six albums and performed live 1,200 times in a decade, from SXSW and Glastonbury to Lollapalooza and your favorite local dive. A proud graduate of the University of Iowa, Elliott penned books and speeches with economist Richard Florida, helped research and author music strategies for the City of Denver and the State of Colorado, and served Bohemian Foundation as the founding Director of The Music District.  He’s a complete amateur at everything from old Schwinns and experimental cooking to eastern philosophies and evolutionary neuroscience, living on Beaver Lake in Rogers, AR, with his kayak Ozzie, his bike Trailzz, and various maps of the earth and sky hung on everything that’s not a window.

https://www.themusicdistrict.org/

http://www.cachecreate.org/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7RwANj9z-c

https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/making-a-music-city-home-innovating-music-podcast/

Credits

Episode produce by Spark Consulting Group (www.inspiredbyspark.com) in Iowa City, with support from Executive Podcast Solutions (https://www.executivepodcastsolutions.com/)

The Iowa Idea Podcast music written and performed by Paisley Bible (https://paisleybible.bandcamp.com/).