WTF with CDJ

The what, why, and how of who, where, and whatever. I have been singing my entire life - certainly not always well, but louder when no one is listening ;) Luckily a year ago, I was able to find someone who is an absolute expert. This person even gave me the confidence to try singing in public, which resulted in my adding my singing to this very platform. Jill Samycia lends her talents to me in more ways than I can count, but if I were to try, our times together include listening, learning, teaching, mentorship, and friendship. In episode 7 "The Resolution" I talked about how we can cheer ourselves on towards what comes next, no matter how wild or crazy it may seem to others. I began working with Jill earlier that month and while I have since grown in my singing practice, I completed just two lessons before last year's recording. In short, not only did I have less miles under my belt, my relationship with Jill was very new. I recall asking her if she was comfortable with me mentioning her in the episode, and even whether or not she would feel comfortable with me linking her pages to my post. Truthfully I accept that the content I create, or works I have been a part of are not for everyone. I didn't want to assume she would be comfortable being affiliated with "a tattooed nude model". Lucky for me - and lucky for all of us - not only did Jill give me permission to include her in my episode, she gave her enthusiastic consent! As you listen to this month's episode you'll hear why her enthusiasm for guiding others to their singing goals is not only natural, but truly exuberant, joyful and authentic. Though I often act independently, I love team work. That said, I'm still learning how to ask for help. At times I even struggle to take up others on their offers of support. Jill truly loves what she does.  Her level of expertise is enlightened. Her offers of guidance and assistance are genuine. I may not be going on tour any time soon, but I am making progress in ways that matter to me. So much of this is thanks to Jill and her undeniable talent. While I have the incredible pleasure of working with Jill in person here in Vancouver, she has remarkable digital material, fantastic social posts, and also offers online lessons. You know what that means... Sing with Jill! https://singwithjill.com https://www.instagram.com/singwithjill/ https://www.tiktok.com/@singwithjill Do you love it?!?

The what, why, and how of who, where, and whatever. My conversations with Gracie Hagen are never linear, but they are always thoughtful. Somehow even our silliest takes - riffing on body cavities and billie goats, takes us somewhere meaningful. In May we traveled to Washington state to make art and reconnect IRL. The resulting images are some of my favourite to date, and also include some images where a pair of goats stole the show. Of course, none of this was unusual for Gracie & I. We have been finding our way into (and creating photo evidence of) adventures since 2012. What has changed in the intervening years is our ability to identify which parts are worth looking deeper into, and which ones are simply something we will do differently next time. Tune into episode 18 of WTF with CDJ to hear more about Gracie's latest series, and a little tangent about Kevin Costner too. Follow Gracie here: https://www.graciehagen.com https://www.instagram.com/graciehagen/ Do you love it?!?

The what, why, and how of who, where, and whatever. Behind the booth, in front of it, or free from one completely - Shotgun & I have attended (and outlasted) many conventions. Tune in for part 2 of our chat for more of our thoughts on community, kindness, and comfort. https://anchor.fm/tita-dujour/episodes/Episode-16-The-Interview---Shotgunlovesyou-e1ohk7u Follow Shotgun here: https://www.patreon.com/shotgunlovesyou https://www.instagram.com/shotgunlovesyou/ https://onlyfans.com/shotgunlovesyou Do you love it?!?

The what, why, and how of who, where, and whatever. 21 years after the launch of suicidegirls.com it turns out you can put two OG SGs in a virtual room and it ain't nothing new... Find out what we have in common with The Girls Next Door, and why the Spice Girls helped Shotgun take "Girl Power" to a whole other level in episode 16 of WTF with CDJ! Follow Shotgun here: https://www.patreon.com/shotgunlovesyou https://www.instagram.com/shotgunlovesyou/ And don't forget, you can catch the video companion to this episode on OF!  Do you love it?!?

The what, why, and how of who, where, and whatever. Tita X Gracie Hagen - the start of something... Gracie Hagen & I speak almost every week. What began as a creative project designed to keep our pandemic possessed brains from turning to mush, has morphed into a long form conversation about the nature of creativity. While our original idea remains a work in progress, the things we have made since 2020 - individually and together are a thing worthy of sharing in their own right. Join us for a conversation about process and processing, production and procrastination - with a healthy side of "ignorance". (We hope you find it charming.) Follow Gracie here: https://www.graciehagen.com https://www.instagram.com/graciehagen/ Do you love it?!?

The what, why, and how of who, where, and whatever. If you can't bring a knife to a gun fight - you definitely shouldn't bring a figure skater to a boxing match. Unless the ice skater in question is me, and the friend in her corner is Jessika Thurteenluck! A talented singer, business woman, hair stylist and punk rock bad ass - "Big Bad Jess" knows how to make herself heard, and can't help but be known (as in recognized) in every venue in Vancouver. Tune in as we talk about Ellismania, Vancouver venues, and wax about When We Were Young. Follow Jessika here: https://www.instagram.com/thurteenartistryinc/ Do you love it?!?

The what, why, and how of who, where, and whatever. I had the pleasure of celebrating another birthday with Rydell Suicide! What better way to say cheers to another year of friendship than by celebrating the one year anniversary of this podcast?! After revisiting a podcast we guested on in 2012 hosted by the band Fighting for Ithica, our conversation centred on "what has changed since 2012 - and what has stayed the same, adapted, or come back around!" *Spoiler alert* The CDJ Server meet up at Emerald City Comic-Con is coming! Stay tuned for more info on the event, as well as what Rydell & I are cooking up for it ;) Do you love it?!?

Do you prefer post Vine Twitter or are you a pre SmugMug Flickr enthusiast? If you had it to do again would you join Instagram? Tune in to round two with Lou Noble to hear our thoughts on sharing your life on the Internet, what makes a good story, and what parts of social media make you a bad person. (Hey! I never said I was a good person :P ) See more of Lou's work here: https://thephotographicjournal.com https://www.flickr.com/photos/louobedlam/ https://www.instagram.com/louobedlam/ For those keeping notes on episode 10... I did shoot with Lou while I was in LA in March! The images, featured in my exclusive Patreon Zine were an absolute delight to participate in. The next batch to Tita X Lou photos (and podcast recording!) is coming up in August. Do you love it?!?

The what, why, and how of who, where, and whatever. The WTF interview series continues! From March's Patreon posts and zine, to his recent Kickstarter campaign, by now you're well familiar with Allan Amato's work. This month you get to hear him talk about his craft - from the early days of fashion photography, to ground breaking books, and IG bans. Follow the link to hear us chat about what we're collaborating on next! Follow Allan here: https://twitter.com/allanamato https://www.instagram.com/allanamato/ https://allanamato.com Do you love it?!?

The what, why, and how of who, where, and whatever. I'm super pleased to share another interview this month! I met Lou Noble in  Los Angeles in 2014.  His portraits - both digital and instant, had captured  some of my favourite faces. But the draw was more than that.  Having "never taken pictures of anything but people", Lou's photos appear to take place in the middle of  a sentence, a laugh, a story. It's as though he captures his subjects in ellipses, leaving the audience hungry for the next breath, word, or giggle. This month I got to ask Lou what drove him to "start talking" to his photography subjects, where his work has taken him, and why there aren't more nudes in his catalogue of work. See more of Lou's work here: https://thephotographicjournal.com https://www.flickr.com/photos/louobedlam/ https://www.instagram.com/louobedlam/ Editing these interview episodes remains a pleasure. After featuring Sash, and now Lou, I can't wait to see whom of my collaborators I can speak to - and share with you next! Do you love it?!?

The what, why, and how of who, where, and whatever. Today's guest is none other than the model I've featured all month on Patreon - Sash Suicide  Back in my radio days, I loved doing shows with guests. Speaking to another person makes me feel less self conscious, and my genuine curiousity makes focusing on them natural and easy.  (Editing shows with another voice on em feels a lot easier too!) While some people love an audience, one main thing Sash and I have in common is our introverted nature. I may have performed on ice all over the world, but Sash has been featured in magazines, television, videos, and viewed by fans all over the planet! So how did a quiet lil homebody become one of the most recognized Suicidegirls of all time? Listen in to Episode 9 to learn just how Sash became an SG, why bank tellers make her nervous, and how she and I met and became friends!

The what, why, and how of who, where, and whatever. How is an ancient bacteria like an Instagram post? This time around I'm making a connection that is a bit of a stretch... but stay with me! I may be genuinely sick of listening to myself, but lucky for me, I have Patrons like you to support me and share inspiration for new episodes each month. Patrons asked for more Rydell X Tita so that is what you will hear! Do you love it?!?

The what, why, and how of who, where, and whatever. The end is here! Good, bad, or otherwise - this year is drawing to a close and many are getting geared up for another crack at this thing called life. I've never been much of a "resolution" person. It seems to me that writing things down on a piece of paper, though helpful, does little to move the needle in any particular direction. This year, instead of a personal manifesto, journal, or social media post, I'm laying it all out in podcast form. Listen, or don't. I'll keep doing. Just like I would whether that little piece of paper got lost or forgotten. Call me crazy, but we can make things happen for ourselves whenever we want to. Yes, there will be obstacles, and certainly privilege (or lack thereof) plays a part too. But at the end of the day or ahem... year we must cheer ourselves on towards what comes next. As someone who has lived through this pandemic more or less solo, all I can say is "it's worked so far!" Happy New Year everyone. You helped to make 2021 new, and exciting - and scary - but in the best possible way.  I would like to include an ENORMOUS thank you for my coach Jill @singwithjill for believing in me (and my crazy ideas), and for providing piano accompaniment in this episode. She literally kicks the whole thing off, and I plan to kick 2022's butt with her help!  Cheers to you.  Cheers to us.  Do you love it?!?

The what, why, and how of who, where, and whatever. The world moves fast, and nowhere is that more apparent than the World Wide Web. It makes sense then that as we careen towards the next iteration of the Internet things are changing all over the place. But... are they? In this month's show I chat with my friend Rocky Delgado about how we met, why we became friends and what has NOT changed over all these years. Go back to the future with us as we talk collectibles and clothing, NFTs & Web 3.0. (and why manners are always on trend). Find more from my guest Rocky Delgado at www.patreon.com/inrockyvision & www.instagram.com/inrockyvision Do you love it?!?

The what, why, and how of who, where, and whatever. After a month of cosplay and costumes I thought I'd dive into another popular topic around Halloween... fear! From scary movies to haunted houses, I polled my friends and followers on Twitter for what makes them jump, scream, or break into a sweat. I followed up that research with some reading and found that the things that go bump in the night AND the things we do by daylight have a lot in common. Tune in for some science, scares and screams! Do you love it?!?

The what, why, and how of who, where, and whatever. This month marks the 20th anniversary of Suicidegirls dot com! In honour of this major achievement, special guest Rydell Suicide is back for another interview-style episode. Episode 4 - The Hashtag If you've ever used hashtags to find content, you'll be familiar with how useful they are as an organizational tool on websites.  If you've ever encountered #mature you'll also know that the Internet is a polarizing place with two main camps  - Young. and Old. ma·ture /məˈCHo͝or,məˈto͝or/ adjective fully developed physically; full-grown."she was now a mature woman" having reached the most advanced stage in a process."Van Gogh's mature work" After visiting, making, and modelling for adult domains for over 10 years, we've seen thing or two. You may have thought "early adopter" meant new, fresh, or even young, but let me assure you, the hashtags have been telling us that we're mature for years. In this episode Rydell and I discuss the use of hashtags on suicidegirls dot com and how it feels to be called "old on the Internet". Spoiler alert: We didn't care then and we don't care now! Do you love it?!?

This month's topic probably ain't what you think it is...  When I said dirty I meant taboo, but when I said taboo I don't mean sex. The pandemic brought us many things;Endless streaming, #doomscrolling, and Zoom fatigue. It also brought many of us a not-so-healthy serving of boredom and loneliness. This month I asked my Twitter followers what they do to stave off boredom, and soothe loneliness.  I have to say, I was surprised by the level of engagement these questions brought on. It's been clear to me from the beginning that this project is about vulnerability. There are few things that make us feel more vulnerable than talking about these topics. The interactivity of this episode was really inspiring. Adding the input of others helped me to tackle a subject that might have felt too heavy to go alone. Thank you to everyone who chimed in on my tweets. If you're not following me there, get in on it! www.twitter.com/cupcakedujour I'll surely be sending more podcast related tweets in the days to come. Do you love it?!?

The what, why, and how of who, where, and... MY WEDDING! Snippets from those who were there before, during, and after the grand affair.  If you've ever wondered "WTF was that?!?" You're gonna find out here.  This episode fits in nicely with my exclusive July Patreon content (never before seen photos, videos, and BTS!) dedicated to all things relating to my EXXXOTICA wedding. Join the architects of the spectacular spectacle from EXXXOTICA and celebrate my "anniversary" with me with these never before shared moments. Do you love it?!?

SG cutie Rydell was with me every step of the way leading up to my epic wedding in Chicago - from picking out my dress, to my first meeting with my (future) ex husband! Hear how I met Mr. Nay and why I might have known better... The "meet not cute" if you will ;)  This bonus (mini) episode serves as a little warm up for the coming episode of WTF with CDJ. The topic you ask? Me, my EXXXOTICA wedding and that pesky ex - featuring a few special guests that were there taking notes ;) Do you love it?!?

Welcome to WTF with CDJ. The what, why, and how of who, where, and whatever! Join me for a brief intro to WTF this show is about! You'll get a little background about me, where I've been, and how we got here (yes all of us!). In short, my first episode is a chance to reintroduce myself to my friends, fans, and followers. It's been a minute, and oh how we have changed! NOTES: The music sampled in the episode is louder than the recorded volume of the episode. As I continue to learn and navigate editing using Anchor, I'll be sure to get the hang of its quirks. I appreciate your patience - and ideas/tips are welcome! Sending a GIANT thank you out to my Patrons without whom this lil episode intro would not exist.  Subscribe to Patreon for behind the scenes from recording, sneak peeks at episodes, and upcoming guests too! www.patreon.com/cupcakedujour Do you love it?!?