Tag Archive for: author

Caleb Spiegel (he/they) is a father, a husband, a son, a friend, a public elementary school teacher, a creator, a brother, an activist, a writer, and an explorer. He spent 20 years playing music professionally before earning a magna cum laude Bachelor’s degree in history from Lewis and Clark at the age of 37. Right before the whole world shut down due to covid Caleb enrolled in a Masters in Teaching program at Pacific University which he completed in a coat closet turned into an office while teaching kindergarten online and helping to guide his child through online elementary school. He is quite happy to have those 18 months behind him.

In 2024 Caleb was nominated for an Oregon Department of Education Teacher of the Year Award. He did not win and that’s okay.

Caleb enjoys building community. He likes cooking, making music, and laughing until he cries, all with people he loves. Caleb also likes to spend his money on stuff his friends make. He is lucky to have many very talented friends.

When it is warm Caleb likes to hike and look at beautiful things. When it is cold he likes to plan for hikes when it gets warm again. His phone is filled with pictures of his kid and too many pictures of the sky in the morning when the orange coming out of the east starts to mix with the darkness overhead.

Caleb’s nightstand has a giant pile of books on it. So does his dresser. He probably won’t get to them all, yet he keeps bringing home more of them. Maybe one day he will write one of his own.

Mark Powers is one of the Pacific Northwest’s secret weapons. A skilled tradesman possessing a vast wealth of capabilities, not only in the percussion realm, but as a stalwart music industry journeyman. On top of that, the guy climbs a mean rock wall! Hang out and chat with Mark to discover why so many artists seek him out to perfect their live and studio presentations.

“It’s an honor to have shared the stage over the years with artists as diverse as Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen, Devon Evans (of Bob Marley and the Wailers), Clyde Stubblefield, Rolling Stones saxophonist Tim Ries, Bad Company’s Lynn Sorensen, [America’s Polka King] the late Frankie Yankovic, disco sensations The Afrodisiacs, 80’s nerd-rockers The Spazmatics, Mbrascatu, King Black Acid, Portland Cello Project, Floater and more.

I feel equally as fortunate to have contributed drumset and/or percussion tracks to a number of incredible recording projects, including releases by M.Ward, She & Him, Mbrascatu, Haley Johnsen, Falls, Amanda Richards, Robert Wynia & The Sound, Drumattica, Cory Chisel & the Wandering Sons, Elke Robitaille, Cult of Orpheus and others.

I’ve also had the pleasure of appearing on tracks that feature Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey of R.E.M., Neko Case, and k.d. lang.”

Janna is one of those wonderful humans that’s spent serious time exploring one’s individuality, seeking to discover the identity of “who we are” versus “what we do”. Her book “Me, My Selfie & Eye: A Midlife Conversation About Lost Identity, Grief & Seeing Who You Are” paints that exploration perfectly, and her new podcast series (Eyedentity Talk) “offers meaningful support and insight for anyone in the throes of midlife identity loss and confusion.”

A self-identified “Heart seeker, word builder, practical dreamer, tequila sipper, photo taker, perpetual learner, thought conveyer, star gazer, aurora chaser, cynical optimist”, Janna goes deep, and I look forward to chatting about that depth, vulnerability and self-discovery.

Discover many of Janna’s gifts at her Website by clicking here.