Chris Lopez, communications director for the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee, spoke with me two days ago about preparations for the Democratic National Convention August 25-28 in Denver.  He’s got a big job, coordinating an expected 15,000 or so journalists who will cover what he calls the Superbowl of Politics.  Our conversation provided an intriguing look inside the massive effort going on here in Denver to get ready for an historic event.

 I’m going to travel light to the islands for a break in my podcasting and other Internet life.  We’ll be on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, until April 25th.

This is the mp3 version of Episode 56, Pianocaster Mario Ajero.

Mario Ajero is Assistant Professor of Piano Pedagogy and Coordinator of Class Piano at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. He also hosts The Piano Podcast. He was in Denver this week for the Music Teachers National Association conference, which gave us a chance to meet for the first time in person after two years of knowing each other on the Internet.  In this interview, he talks about how he uses technology to advance the role of music in people’s lives, especially related to the piano. He also describes a beta evaluation he’s doing for a new product making it possible to teach piano via the Internet.  After the interview, Mario took me to a performance by famed pianist Lang Lang at Trinity Methodist Church, which was incredibly great.

I first came across Mario’s music when I was looking for something to go with this video podcast from Maine nearly two years ago, and I returned to him again for this one.

Music for this episode is Mario playing Robert Schumann’s Piano Novellette in D Major, courtesy of the Podsafe Music Network.

Republican Albert Maruggi, founder of Provident Partners and host of the Marketing Edge podcast, and Democrat Kesler Woodward, a renowned painter friend of mine from Fairbanks, Alaska, responded to my Twitter invitation today and gave their takes on Barack Obama’s speech yesterday on race relations.  

Albert mentioned the New Communications Forum April 22-25, 2008 at The Vineyard Creek Inn & Spa in Sonoma County, CA.

Check out Kes’s art and accounts of his creative process here.

I’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to leave an audio comment at 206-339-4717. Or e-mail me at PodChronicles@gmail.com.

Music for the podcast is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig and Matthew Lyon, from their Glacier Journey CD.

My wife and I drove from Denver to the Panhandle of Texas to help out with the Obama campaign. This episode contains interviews at the watch party last night and some observations of where things stand the morning after. We leave as soon as I get this podcast finished for the long ride home.

Video evangelist Steve Garfield met me this morning at Sweet Finnish at 761 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain, where each month for the past two years he has hosted Boston Media Makers in a back room filled with fascinating media creators, artists, and gadget freaks who have a chance to meet and share enthusiasms and info. BMM meets the first Sunday of the month at 10 a.m. for two hours.  In this interview, Steve remembers how he first got into blogging, then video blogging, a genre he pretty much invented, and now live mobile "storycasting."   Steve shows how a playful, experimental, happy engagement with new technology can yield results far beyond a mere effort to "monetize" internet innovation.  He does talk about the nuts and bolts of moving toward making a living in this space, as well as what he’s learning right now about the new frontier of mobile live broadcasting.    

The music for my podcast is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig and Matthew Lyon, from their Glacier Journey CD.

Last night I participated in a Democratic caucus in Denver as a Precinct Captain for Barack Obama. This podcast contains interviews with fellow caucus goers and the general sounds of a very full school auditorium My precinct, 521, went 60-40 for Obama, and Colorado gave Obama a tidy 67% share of the caucus votes.

Music for the podcast is “Going to the Sun” composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig and Matthew Lyon, from their Glacier Journey CD. Further information at http://earthpassage.com/glacier.htm

This is an audio portrait of The Phoenix Concept, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility for homeless men.  Contributions may be sent to The Phoenix Concept, 2162 Lawrence St., Denver, CO 80205. The phone number is 303-293-3620.

Music for my podcast is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig, and Matthew Lyon, from their Glacier Journey CD.

Please feel free to send your feedback to PodChronicles@gmail.com or leave a comment here on the show notes page.