Arts Calling Podcast | Down-to-earth conversations with independent artists about craft, community, and a life well-lived.

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Hi there,

Today I am excited to be arts calling author and musician Carlos Baker! (ckbakerband.com)

About our guest: Having spent his entire life saturated both in music and writing, Carlos Baker’s band C.K. Baker Bands has released their sophomore album, Find Your Way. Carlos’s gift as a songwriter comes alive as an alternative rock sound, a compelling combination of styles from classic rock, rhythm and blues, folk, and soul. By melding hook-filled melody within unexpected chord changes, his lyrics and vocal delivery showcase his ability and willingness to be completely honest in baring his emotional soul to the listener. Carlos is also the author of Songs for Ivy, a love story of hope and resilience. Inspired by his personal tragedies of childhood cancer and having his leg amputated above the knee at the age of 14, this fictional novel is a touching and enlightening perspective on the complexity of the human soul and experience.

About Songs for Ivy: On her 16th birthday, Ivy is shocked to receive a personal journal written by her late brother Jake who died when she was an infant. In it, she slowly learns of a young man’s ultimate acceptance of the life he is dealt—just a short time on earth and an opportunity to experience true unconditional love for his mother and those around him. Through it all, Ivy discovers Jake’s strength as he composes songs and poetry for his beloved sister so she can get to know him—a hero who faces his feelings and accepts his heartbreaking destiny with grace. Jake, indeed, lived a full life, opening his heart to the possibility of transcending death to be Born A New Man. Yet amid the tribulations and the suffering, the story offers tender accounts of the development of young love, true friendship, fears of abandonment, questions of faith and religion, anxiety, grief, guilt, self-blame, betrayal and hopelessness. In the end, Songs for Ivy is a touching and enlightening perspective on topics such as childhood and terminal cancer, alcoholism, drug addiction, work addiction, morbid obesity, family dysfunction, end-of-life issues, love and complex family relations all rolled together to reveal the complexity of the human soul.

Purchase Songs for Ivy today! https://www.amazon.com/Songs-Ivy-Carlos-K-Baker/dp/195252153X

Thanks for this amazing conversation, Carlos! All the best!

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Arts Calling is produced by Jaime Alejandro (cruzfolio.com). If you like the show: please consider reviewing the podcast and sharing it with those who love the arts, or are starting their creative journey! Your support truly makes a difference, so check out the new website artscalling.com for the latest episodes!

Go make a dent: much love,

j