Deep Track Designs

The Moody Blues: A Personal Connection

Nowadays you may be finding it impossible to ignore what seems to be the mass exodus of so many bands, musicians, and songwriters of yesterday – too many in just the past couple of years. In true blue, rock 'n' roll fashion, Elizabeth scrambles to preserve the memories of music she followed her entire life, dating as far back as the '60s. In doing so, she welcomes Gary Kudrna, sound engineer for The Moody Blues for 12 extraordinary years. How Elizabeth and her latest guest's worlds happen to collide is a rock 'n' roll story well worth telling. For now, we'll just say it all began with the two of them once meeting the same beautiful girl named Paula. The two agree that their coming together was an event that was simply "meant to be" after her passing late last year.  You'll want to listen to the behind-the-scenes stories about how The Moody Blues were "instrumental" in keeping Gary and Paula's relationship alive. Not only that, hear about Gary's unique mixing process and the other famous bands he's worked with. Over 400, including the Beach Boys, Robert Palmer, and Led Zeppelin, just to name a few! Rare, special guests, "Three Dog Night," decide to play the roles of background vocalists for a short stretch in this track. These are Gary's three beloved rescue dogs, Jango, Beni, and Sal, also known as "the boys." This guy also has some very cool and collected rock 'n' roll decor: framed platinum albums, guitars, signed artwork, and more. Elizabeth goes crazy over this and points out her undeniable passion for rock music-inspired rooms, an everyday additive on her website and Instagram feed. Rumor has it that Elizabeth and Gary are thinking about coming back to record Part II because they figure they barely scratched the surface. Be sure to stay tuned in to Deep Track Designs for more!  A tribute to our dear, sweet Paula on her birthday.  Paula Louise Craig 10/02/60 - 11/14/22 A mutual love lost... Her memory is one we vow to keep alive together.

Gen X: Life by Design

YO, everyone!  Get yourself ready for another "gnarly" track from Deep Track Designs as Elizabeth Becken sets you up, once again, with a very special guest. Elizabeth admits she's a young Baby Boomer, but that doesn't derail the desire to share her vast knowledge of the 1980s, and she does just that alongside her homegirl, Jen. It just so happens these two have a ton in common as their businesses and personal lives have evolved simultaneously. Each of them are clearly taking the world by the tail and they explain how listeners can do the same! Sharing the "wisdom" that comes from being older, the two go on to chat about truly understanding how it feels to go through life's transitions, many of which are not fun at all. Both Elizabeth and Jen recognize that many midlifers, whether a design client or budding entrepreneur, need assistance in order to bring their homes or businesses to the next level – the best it can possibly be. Furthermore, they believe starting over, as difficult as it can be, is a unique opportunity that must be seized. It's a great time to take stock in what you've seen, where you've been, and what you've done – THEN make the decision to pivot. At the forefront of this episode is this... Jen, from Jen-X Website Design & Strategy, just finished helping Elizabeth rebrand Smoothyblues Online Interiors. The two are very excited to announce Elizabeth's new niche, Residential Interior Design for Midlifers: Inspiring Home Decor to Match the BOLD New You! Besides taking pride in catering to midlifers with their businesses, the two share plenty of '80s memories. In this track, Jen laughs at how the boys in school used to tease her about her big hair, giving her the name "net-head." When it comes to music, they both agree that "Express Yourself" by Madonna is an appropriate tune for this track's theme song with the lyrics, "Don't go for second best, baby... Put your love to the test!" Not surprising, Elizabeth takes a deep dive into design from the '80s with her colorful discussion around Memphis Design. She talks about its Italian origin and how it came to be so "radically" popular in the United States. She goes on to point out familiar examples – the sets on MTV and Peewee Herman where bright colors and abstract geometric shapes ruled. Listeners, however, may be interested to learn which rock artist compiled one of the largest Memphis Design collections in the world. The collection can be seen at the Modernism Museum Mount Dora, and the title of the exhibit (wink, wink) is Space Oddities: The Sequel. Make sure you listen for more on designing for the Gen Xer today plus Jen's philosophy on aligning feelings with what you want in life. To learn more about Jen's business visit:  https://www.jenxwebdesign.com/ [https://www.jenxwebdesign.com/] Visit Elizabeth's new website: https://www.smoothybluesonlineinteriors.com/ [https://www.smoothybluesonlineinteriors.com/]

Leopard and the Little Rebel

Elizabeth Becken is turning up the volume with a spectacular line-up of guests for Season II of Deep Track Designs! She says the criteria for guests is simple: they must love music, must have something mind-blowing to add to their interior design conversation, AND, they absolutely must have a sense of humor. With her typical injection of Vermont flavor, Elizabeth explains how she met her first very cool guest. What grabbed her attention was this: the unsuspecting, soon-to-be guest had “two major (and I mean MAJOR) obsessions – leopard print and David Bowie.” As Elizabeth got to know her more, she thought, dang girl, you’re coming with me! You’ll be asking yourself, who else other than Elizabeth dares to zigzag back and forth between conversations about the most famous interior designer of all time and Bowie… and with such remarkable grace? Literally with Grace, Elizabeth’s first guest, who is asked when she first recognized herself as a little rebel and matter-of-factly responds, “inside the womb!” One after another, Grace drops entertaining bombs with her surprising answers to Elizabeth’s questions. Although Grace considers herself a rebel of sorts, don’t be fooled. She is not only a talented artist, she's also an extremely well-spoken lady who grew up in a home where music and art became staples in the pantry of her everyday life. She clearly loves and respects her grandparents who raised her.  Of course, Elizabeth manages to weave in a few historical tidbits about leopard print, as well as how to incorporate the pattern into your design. Both she and Grace agree that they tend to gravitate most toward a leopard print design which also features neon pink. The over-the-top discussion about their mutual love for leopard clothing and decor is well worth taking in. Finally, you’ll love hearing Grace provide some obscure factoids about David Bowie’s life and music. Be prepared to learn something new! Rest assured, the two won’t be saying goodbye before touching on Bowie’s hit, “Rebel Rebel.” Be sure to listen all the way through this track to truly get the deep connection this lady has with Bowie. You can check out Grace’s art on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/feannag/ [https://www.instagram.com/feannag/] Learn more about Elizabeth by visiting her website: https://www.smoothybluesonlineinteriors.com/ [https://www.smoothybluesonlineinteriors.com/]

Season One Finale: Out With a Bang!

Deep Track Designs is going out with a BANG... literally! On a sweltering hot day in Vermont, Elizabeth cracks open a Harpoon Summer Ale to celebrate the season's end with her co-host and proceeds to tell everyone one last story. You have to listen to appreciate the full magnitude of Elizabeth's sweaty excitement when she unleashes her amazing new discovery – one of the world's most famous and talented drummers, the Japanese twelve year-old, Yoyoka Soma. She says she stumbled upon Yoyoka late one night while pulling her notes together for her final track of the season. Her initial thoughts included promoting her social media plus reminiscing about the highlights from the last eight episodes; theme songs, design tips, and particularly funny segments... and that  she's done. BUT... Then she came across Yoyoka's birthday YouTube video of her drumming away to "We're an American Band" with her family. Elizabeth explains how she kept digging and found more and more of this genius' head-banging videos: "Stone Cold Crazy," "Good Times Bad Times," "Burn," "Sunshine of Your Love," and "Black Dog," to name a few. Elizabeth was blown away and now plans on designing a room just for Yoyoka, since she loves designing rooms to inspire young people to follow whatever feeds their passion. You can bet this room will feature a drum set! Until Yoyoka contacts her, she adds the new room design will live in her website's Our Future design gallery. Speaking of which, Elizabeth wants to be sure listeners know there will be plenty of entertainment going on while she takes a break from the mic.  She invites everyone to visit her website [https://www.smoothybluesonlineinteriors.com/] where she's written numerous unique posts for her Genre blog. Some of her most popular include Janis Lyn Joplin: A Surprising Connection to Interior Design, Savage Gardens: Dining Rooms Unimagined, and Paws for Design. She and her co-host remark on how crazy and colorful her Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/smoothybluesonlineinteriors/] page is as well! So, you may be wondering where this girl is going. The story reads she's leaving on a jet plane to Thailand, but she DOES know when she'll be back again... That'll be January, with a spankin' new podcast format! Don't you worry, though. Elizabeth promises music and design are still going to be very much her main gig.  One last thing before she leaves... If you listen to the end of Track 9, you'll find a freebie promotion Elizabeth's created especially for her podcast listeners! Just her way of saying THANK YOU to everyone for listening.

Farmhouse Blitz

Smoothyblues owner, Elizabeth, and her co-host start this track off by painting a vivid picture of what it’s like to take in all of Vermont’s natural summer beauty, a distinct celebration for the senses. In the foreground of Elizabeth’s mind, however, are all of the farmhouses that can be seen around almost every turn she takes. She says, as an interior designer, she often finds herself gravitating towards a few particular farmhouse styles, and you can imagine why. But before getting into the thick of the design discussion, you can leave it to Elizabeth to catch you off guard with an unusual conversation about her thirsty cucumbers and how she gives herself a "10" when it comes to gardening. There’s a lot of chuckling after she dares Bo Derek to challenge her on this.  In the continued effort to uphold her modus operandi, Elizabeth makes the announcement of her unconventional choice for a theme song, "We’re an American Band" by Grand Funk Railroad.  After all, how could this song possibly relate to farmhouse design?  It’s SIMPLE, she says, "I love to listen to music featuring cowbells!" She asks her co-host, "Have you ever noticed how everyone runs to the dance floor like a herd of cattle when they hear cowbells? I know I DO!"  While chatting it up about this Michigan-based band, Elizabeth mentions famous groupie, Connie Hamzy. She points out there’s a line in this song dedicated to Sweet, Sweet Connie. The two joke again... Perhaps Elizabeth could be a groupie for her co-host’s band, and people would refer to her as Sweet, Sweet Lizzy. It’s so easy for these two to propagate more and more spin-off music talk, because they clearly love it! Keep the faith, though, because Elizabeth does manage to turn this track around to inform listeners about her three favorite farmhouse design styles, something else she really loves.  She begins her talk with describing the Early American Farmhouse style. She not only provides a little history, she describes the typical furniture from this era as well their signature characteristics. There’s even a few short lessons on pie safe and Windsor chair construction.  Next up is what Elizabeth refers to as Farmhouse Glitz. You’ll surely want to hear about her romantic bedroom design. She shows you how complete opposites, rustic and glam, can work very well together.  Finally, this lady gets around to a style so many of us are just crazy about – Industrial Farmhouse. She provides a comprehensive list of elements, once again, but get a hold of this! You’re also going to be hearing about her dream, loft apartment in NYC. Let’s say this for now... Twiggy is a special guest. So, you’re gonna want to listen to the end, cause there’s some really funny stuff there! When this track is done, be sure to check out the Smoothyblues website too. Write in to Elizabeth there for a chance to receive a gift of Vermont maple syrup! https://www.smoothybluesonlineinteriors.com/ [https://www.smoothybluesonlineinteriors.com/]