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Professionally he's my enemy. Lucky this is an amateur podcast! Gavin has been one of the most actively supportive friends of this podcast for a number of years, so it's great to finally have him on. I mean sure, he buggered up the episode structure by adding his songs to the Ever-growing Playlist of Joy before the half way point, but I can forgive it. Gav plays with creativity every single day. Has turned what is considered fun in to successful professional career and some entertaining hobbies, including a new podcast of his own - The Empty Page. I hope this inspires you to dive in to some of your own. Search Kids Love Balloons on Spotify to find the playlist alongside all other episodes!

Adventures in gallivanting! Back for another episode and this one runs deep. I always admire the guts it takes to travel across the seas and chase a dream inside you... taking on all the risks... what if it doesn't work? Passion leads us to incredible places.Tamara (HANSSØN) is an Australian who has now lived in New York for 9 years, busy writing her second album, while navigating this year of pandemic, protests and all sorts of associated change. Family relationships. Work. Travel. All our plans are cooked - how is it affecting your mindset? I love that we spoke meaningfully on these matters, and found tangents in to TV shows Who Dares Wins, Gladiators and The Extraordinary. It sounds like we're lifelong mates having a late night D&M... yet we'd never held a conversation before.It's an episode that makes me feel good about making this podcast. That it's worthwhile and there are stories that are better off shared and listened to. Plus there's some love for Pluto! Planet or not, it still exists and still kicks arse. What makes you happy?Don't forget to check out the Kids Love Balloons playlist on Spotify which matches each episode with its 3 songs chosen for the Ever-growing Playlist of Joy.

I took a lot from this. Actor, songwriter and Play School host... Zindzi has the perfect skill set for delving in to a childlike mind-frame and talking joy, creativity and happiness! We hear insights in to the creation of Play School and also the spin off Art Time. "Those kids were not thinking at all. Their imaginations literally had no bounds. It was the best reminder ever, because they came up with the most amazing things..."The art of being in the moment. Taking time to find that. I need to work on clearing my mind and finding presence. Thank you so much Zindzi for sharing so much of your wisdom and experience. "Music is still a space where... I find myself getting more and more free; but I'm not fully free, yet." The song choices are top shelf. I give a chef's kiss which I trust you can visualize. If you smile, learn or discover anything from listening to this, please let me know. Have a great one.

Quit your job, run your own business, be your own boss. He dared to dream, took the plunge and backed himself, and I'm so stoked to have watched this guy's journey vicariously for the best part of the decade. Josh even helped me get this podcast up and running when I had no idea what as RSS feed was 6 years ago. One of the good dudes. He's committed his efforts into creating positive memories for people on one of their milestone days - their wedding ceremony. Shattering the rule book, encouraging rebellion, traveling the world doing so. Even though he added Nickelback to the Ever-growing Playlist of Joy, I'll forgive him, because he's followed the other rules of the podcast. Channeling his passions and skills in to something positive for the universe.

"Why wouldn't I have a space band? And give it a red hot crack?" Zoë's attitude is precisely what I want to learn about with this podcast. She lives her life diving in to the child-like mindset of enjoying herself, channeling happiness, meditating on joy. Being present. It was fascinating spending time on the phone with her and I hope to make regular, positive change from her lessons. The way Zoë switched the mundane chore of balancing spreadsheets in to a detective-like investigation adventure is just magic. The type of magic us adults forget we are capable of. "It's so easy to get stuck on autopilot and then you'll probably like wake up and realize that you've missed your whole life". PLAY is the one word answer. I'm so stoked I had this chat, and here it is for you to listen to. Cheers.

The very first song added to the Ever-growing Playlist of Joy was The Chariot by Melbourne, Australia band The Cat Empire. Today's guest is a member of that band. A man integrally responsible for many moments of happiness in my life, and that of hundreds and thousands of others around the world. The episode begins very reflective and sober, then works in to the excitement of songwriting, performing, and the energy between performers and audience that really creates an undeniable feeling. AFL and somehow even cricket get a mention, burnt coffee and a healthy mix of routine with improvisation. Even some Old Fashioned Mayhem! Check out Harry's new song now.

We're back again. Kids Love Balloons. Now more than ever I need a regular reminder to look for happiness, and now more than most times, I have the spare time to do it! My first guest is the effervescent Mikey Cahill. There's only one of this guy. DJ, writer, promoter, mascot(!) and so much more. Stoked he said yes and gave me some time to muse over what happiness means to us. The three songs he adds to the Ever-Growing Playlist of Joy are brilliant. What makes you happy?

The single greatest answer to any question I could possibly ask. @TheSongNerd

The OGAE are an organisation with branches around the world for fans of the Eurovision Song Contest. As I explain in the intro of this podcast episode, in their glorious wisdom, welcomed Slavko as their guest of honour to 2018's Australian Eurovision preview parties. Search OGAE to find your local group.Slavko's passion for art is the level it should be. He lives and breathes it. I hope some of his passion for music and connection rubs off on you while you listen to this podcast. I'll say no more. Check out his 3 additions to the Ever-growing Playlist of Joy.https://play.spotify.com/user/thesongnerd/playlist/1PjMUX8R9cwbvl62O0HFpT As always I love hearing your feedback. Subscribe away!

Provider of the greatest "Hey Mum!" in Australian history, Tania Doko is a songwriting powerhouse. In songwriting partnership with James Roche, Bachelor Girl had 3 top 50 singles, 5 ARIA nominations and a Songwriter of the Year award over 1998 and 1999. This freaks me out but we're approaching the twentieth anniversary of this period. Crazy.So after years of writing songs based in Stockholm, I've managed to catch Tania during a three week Melbourne trip, where she's creating a new Bachelor Girl album with James to mark this occasion. We discuss the move overseas, the challenges involved with creating with such strict time pressures, the joy of performing, differences between Sweden and Australia, how success affected her social life and attitudes... all through the prism of "what make you happy?" and the Kids Love Balloons vibe.We could've gone on for hours and hours - Tania was fascinating to speak with and got right in the zone. For more of an understanding of what she's been up to since the Bachelor Girl days, check out taniadoko.comThe music that makes her happy is soulful, uplifting and fun - you can see her 3 additions right at the top of the updated Ever-growing Playlist of Joy.https://play.spotify.com/user/thesongnerd/playlist/1PjMUX8R9cwbvl62O0HFpT Please share your thoughts and comments!

Author of five published books with more on the way, a podcast which has been picked up by newspaper and radio entities, teaching masterclasses; Nicole Hayes is a creative guru and won't slow down any time soon. After our chat I believe her extreme creative output has plenty to do with how happy she is on a regular basis. That happiness becomes positive energy shared with those around her, and the world is a better place. This episode of Kids Love Balloons is one big "HELL YEAH" to being creative. If there's an idea somewhere in the back of your mind, do yourself some justice and make some time to play with it.We each look forward to the AFLW season starting this week! Her podcast The Outer Sanctum made enormous waves in Melbourne and the footy community in 2017 and promises to do so again. Get around it - the team of women behind that is something special.Pearl Jam, Sublime and Bruce Springsteen add positions to the Ever-growing Playlist of Joy which takes it to the next level of elite! Discussing this music helped me feel fantastic afterwards. I hope you enjoy listening to this, take a little inspiration somehow, and please leave your feedback by rating, commenting or subscribing.Thanks very much.Nicole's website is nicolehayesauthor.com

Belinda Kirwan is an actor, screenwriter, producer, teacher and dead set legend! Recently she's been co-creating a TV series HActresses, which has become a web series of seven episodes you can watch on YouTube right after you listen to this podcast. You'll recognise many popular Australian personalities including bloody champion Jo Stanley (who features on episode 22 of Kids Love Balloons!).We discuss how tough it can be to achieve your career and creative goals, the struggles you have to persist through, that you may have to take detours and twists and turns to progress, and how to put a smile on your face while you're enduring it all.If you ever experience self-doubt or aren't sure if what you're doing is right or wondering if it's just you finding things so hard - know that you're not alone. Belinda's been there, I'm there regularly, and the characters in this show certainly feel that way.Thanks for listening.Say g'day or say get stuffed @ TheSongNerd

It's been a while! But here we are, finally a new episode. Mike Mills is a brilliant all-round musician from Melbourne. He's involved in a multitude of musical projects but is perhaps best known for his work "as" Toehider. (that's where you can find him on Twitter). We had a chat right after the release of Toehider's latest album, titled "Good". As I explain in this podcast, it's better than good.We discuss overcoming mental demons, the weight of expectation, balancing emotions, and how happiness can feel like it comes at a cost. Three more songs added to the Ever-growing Playlist of Joy, which I dare suggest will probably surprise you. Thanks for listening.

Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss, 1990. For Patrick and everyone else.

Alan Brough has demonstrated his vast music knowledge & passion for years, most famously as team captain in Spicks & Specks. Name me someone more qualified to select three songs for our Ever-growing Playlist of Joy! I'll wait...More recently, Alan has turned his hand to writing books for children aged roughly 10-12. Charlie and the War Against the Grannies was released last year; the next in the series, Charlie and the Karaoke Cockroaches, is released on June 27th. I'm fascinated with the advice he received while learning to write this style: to find your inner 12 year old. The ability to channel your younger self is something I hold in high regard and is potentially the key to creating a smile, a song, or in Alan's case, a series of novels!Alan still listens to new music on a very regular basis and you may be surprised with the songs and artists he mentions. He certainly is a Song Nerd and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time discussing various music, the smell of old record stores and how to earn respect of the staff, the benefits of persistence when listening to music you may not like, the attitude of punk... we cover plenty. It was also great to get an insight in to what it was like to work on Spicks & Specks, and surprising to hear that at times he and ABC staff didn't think he was qualified to perform the role he did so successfully.Join us as we ramble through any manner of things that make he and I happy. I'd love to know which nuggets of info or inspiration you enjoy or learn.Have an awesome day.Hit me up @ TheSongNerd

The world's greatest song contest is fast approaching. Here-assembled is a group of 6 Melbourne-based super experts for your comprehensive preview! Jason-Scott Watkins, Ti Butler Danie Tregonning, Mark Perkins and 2011 contestant Nina share a range of perspectives on the contest. How it makes them happy, their favourite memories, and most urgently: their predictions for the 2017 finals which take place in the second week of May!The politics, the gimmicks, the key changes, the voting, the costumes (and sometimes lack thereof), the varied languages, the questionable taste - if there's something we haven't touched on, please share your comments! The Eurovision Song Contest is a gargantuan beast with so many aspects and in this podcast, 6 fans celebrate them all. We have inside perspective of course from Nina who has actually participated, successfully qualifying for the final. Her insights are incredible. Each of the five guests nominate their most anticipated moments from this year's contest and also provide their top 10 favourite entries. Who will our jury choose as their favourite to win?This year's songs contain yodelling, saxophone solos, a person dancing in a gorilla suit.................. BRACE YOURSELF!Who do you think will win Eurovision 2017?More details and links at thesongnerd.comPlease share your feedback @TheSongNerd anywhere. Enjoy!

"If your quest of life is happiness, then you're going to be a really sad human being."The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is truly one of the world's greatest. Twice Emmy-nominated Loyiso Gola is one of the first class calibre of talents who have travelled here this year, performing his show Dude, Where's My Lion?His International Emmy noms stem from the South African show Late Nite News, a satirical take on politics in the ilk of The Daily Show or The Weekly with Charlie Pickering (where Loyiso has been a regular correspondent).I love this episode for many reasons. Firstly - his immediate answer to "what makes you happy?" is deliberate and profound. Each guest has different answers to this question and different interpretations of what the question actually is. None of these are wrong. But Loyiso's vibe makes plenty of sense.Secondly - he flat out refused to play along with the second rule of my podcast and makes no apologies. I don't even mind!It's amazing to speak with a man of Loyiso's perspective. At just 33 years of age, this dude is seriously wise."The sooner you realise that material things are not gonna make you happy...the closer you are to understanding the theory that I'm trying to present."This podcast isn't stand-up comedy, but trust me when I recommend his MICF show to you! Take a look while he's still in town. I would really value your feedback on this episode. Please leave a comment below, a review on your podcast platform, or hit me up on social media @TheSongNerd.Enjoy your life, don't be a c.....retin.

"Here's one I prepared earlier"... James paid Melbourne a visit in November to speak at the CBAA conference. The afternoon of his presentation, we caught up with a beer and my microphone and discussed radio, podcasts, music and what makes us happy. This weekend I'm pleased to finally share it. The time is right.James is a "radio futurologist". What's that? Click play and listen to him explain it!I never knew cereal could have this much effect on a person's life. Cereal. Breakfast is not only the most important meal of the day, but may hold the key to inspire your whole career. Get around it.Three more songs have been added to the Ever-growing Playlist of Joy - don't let anyone shame you for enjoying a bit of kitsch in your day.James can be contacted at https://james.cridland.net/@TheSongNerd

Podcasting at the footy! You'll hear the ambience of pre-match entertainment at Ikon Park as Tegan & I prepare for our teams to do battle in AFL Women's Round 5. You'll also hear Tegan and I chat about what makes us happy, the multitude of creative endeavours she's involved with, and the gob-smacking way sexual references in music such as Grease and the Rocky Horror Picture Show go straight over kids' heads. Oh how naïve we were.Tegan is currently preparing to perform at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival with her group Watson - with a show titled Go To Hell! Possibly sounding more horrific than comedic - listen in as she explains the premise behind it and how it's one of the must-see shows this year. Watson won Best Comedy award at the 2015 Melbourne Fringe Festival, so you're in safe hands.The Ever-growing Playlist of Joy is again updated on Spotify. Hit up thesongnerd.com for more details or anywhere @TheSongNerd!

The Play That Goes Wrong opens at Melbourne's Comedy Theatre February 22nd. Star Brooke Satchwell feels like she's doing good civic duty in being a part of something that creates so much laughter, happiness and real escape for the thousands of people who will see it across Australia this year. I crashed afternoon rehearsals and scored a quick but bloody awesome chat that I hope you'll really love.Brooke nails exactly why I make this podcast and I feel like the energy in this play could make anyone feel the real unadulterated happiness we need in our lives."Just pure relentless silliness and joy...God knows we all need that at the moment, we forget that we're allowed to have it, we forget that everything that tenses up every muscle in our body and constricts our thinking and our clarity and our ability to reason and move forward, can actually be medicated by laughter.""We get so stuck in our heads, and that's all well and good, but we live in our bodies, and anything that can bring you back in to that present moment and have you grounded and there and present - that's where the freedom comes from. That's where happiness lives."Brooke felt goosebumps in this chat, just thinking about a song that makes her happy. Is there a song that does that to you? ALSO - your homework - what's "that" which Meatloaf will not do?Let me know @TheSongNerd on Facebook, Twitter or wherever you darn well want!We also talk about poo, headbutting practice and getting hit in the nuts - this is a 15 minute blast of fun and one of my favourite episodes.Check out The Play That Goes Wrong and the Ever-growing Playlist of Joy on Spotify!