JEFF MARDER | Broadway Music, Freemasonry, Martial Arts, & more

This is one of the VERY BEST shows I've ever done: Simply put, JEFF MARDER is a world-class talent. He has established himself as an A-list Electronic Music Designer, keyboardist, and Conductor for numerous Broadway shows, tours, Cirque du Soleil, and the Radio City Christmas Show.

Simply put, JEFF MARDER is a world-class talent. He has established himself as an A-list Electronic Music Designer, keyboardist, and Conductor for numerous Broadway shows, tours, Cirque du Soleil, and the Radio City Christmas Show. He’s also the former pianist with the Harlem Spiritual Ensemble and toured the world with them for 6 years. In his spare time he’s a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practicioner, travel blogger and music tech guru.

Jeff is also a legacy Freemason, which is where our friendship began - and which I talk about in detail myself publicly for the first time ever, here or anywhere. This is one of the VERY BEST, most candid and interesting talks I have ever had on the mic, and easily one of the most personal and meaningful shows I’m likely to release, too, so I really hope you check it out.

I’ll do a FULL TRANSCRIPT for this one as soon as possible and publish that also. Please enjoy, share, rate, review, and subscribe wherever YOU get your podcasts, and enjoy!

JEFF MARDER links:
mardermusic, inc:
http://mardermusic.com

BudoBelly (Jeff’s Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blog):
https://budobelly.com

Ikimashou Travel (Jeff’s travel blog that he writes with Brian Li):
https://ikimashoutravel.com

441K (Brian Li’s music technology blog):
https://441k.com

“How China Works” - iTunes: https://tinyurl.com/HowChinaWorks-iTunes / Soundcloud: https://tinyurl.com/HowChinaWorks-Soundcloud / Android / Windows / all devices: https://tinyurl.com/HowChinaWorks-LibSyn

Migration Media: https://www.migrationmedia.net

“BFMK" HOST / SHOW:
“Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom” on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BigFishMiddleKingdom/
Brendan Davis on WeChat: BrendanDavis 
Brendan Davis on Twitter: @VeritasInLux
Other links to LISTEN: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/podcast-link 

JESSE APPELL: The Comedy Scene in China

“I always sum up China in two words: cognitive dissonance.” - Jesse Appell

Boston native Jesse Appell has launched a successful business and speaks Chinese like a local, but that’s not all he’s accomplished during his time in Beijing. Jesse is one of only a handful of Westerners who is trained in the Chinese comedy art of xiangsheng, or crosstalk. It’s a discipline with a storied history here, and Jesse won a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship to come study under a true master of the art, Ding Laoshi. But that was just the start of his career in China.

Jesse’s primary focus nowadays is on running the US-China Comedy Center here in Beijing. At the Center, they feature both single language and bilingual improv and standup comedy shows. Jesse founded the Center just about a year ago, but it’s already become a focal point for the growing comedy scene here. To give you an idea of what these shows are like, in the show notes I am including links to several examples of Jesse in action, which are subtitled and really funny regardless of your native language.

As a writer, Jesse has also been working hard to crack the elusive cross-cultural comedy code for movies. He has been developing a buddy picture that’s designed to truly appeal to both markets, and from what he says about it here, I think he might be onto something. 

This episode gets very deep into the worlds of comedy, creativity, and filmmaking, so it’s  especially worth checking out if you work in those worlds, aspire to, or just enjoy them and want to learn more. But Jesse’s thoughts about the obstacles to true communication are keenly observed, and should be interesting to anyone trying to understand the other cultural better. I hope you enjoy it!

Lastly, another quick reminder that we are still a featured show on the Castbox.fm website and the Castbox podcast app! Castbox works in your web browser, iOS, and they have an especially nice new app for Android devices. Please check us out on Castbox, and subscribe to the show wherever you listen to us. 

US-China Comedy Center:
www.uschinacomedy.com

WeChat:
Uschinacomedycenter

Weibo:
@艾杰西

Jesse Appell - Chinese standup (subtitled):
https://youtu.be/UA2P-q9MxXk

"Chinese Mitch Hedberg" routine
http://m.youku.com/video/id_XNzU3ODkyNDgw.html 

Xiangsheng overview:
https://youtu.be/7QxW-KBE6EA

"BFMK" site:
https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/

Brendan Davis on Twitter:
@VeritasInLux

Carl King (composer):
http://carlkingdom.com

Apple Podcasts:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/big-fish-in-the-middle-kingdom/id1237037187?mt=2

CastBox:
http://castbox.fm/u/4711710

Ximalaya:
http://m.ximalaya.com/82109155/album/8651374