Welcome back to Ad Yack, Season 3.
It’s nice to be back because I wanted to amp things up a little with the first episode of season three, and I’m happy to say, that my first guest of the hits all the right notes.
Crystal Durant is a very talented NYC based Graphic Designer, DJ, Singer, Rock Show Producer, Sound Designer for Broadway, Podcaster, Metalsmith, Printmaker, Art Educator, Pop Culture Demolition Specialist, Storyteller, Photographer, and Activist.
As her mom used to say, she’s a “very multifaceted Crystal”!
She earned an Associates Degree in Specialized Technology/Visual Communication/Photography at the Art Institute of Philadelphia, and a BFA in Metal smithing along with her Art Ed Degree/Certification (K-12 & College) from The University of The Arts.
She taught Visual Art in the NYC Department of Education for over 20 years.
For the last 6 years, she was a featured singer in NYC’s longest running Rock and Roll tribute show called “F*BOMB”, and has her own Who tribute band called “These Kids Are Alright” and a very popular Prince tribute band called “Pills, Thrills, and Daffodils”
She has also performed in a Soundgarden tribute, and with a host of NYC legends.
For the last 7 years she’s been a Professional Muse at The Art Students League of New York where she is one of their featured models. Her face and figure have been sketched, drawn, painted, and sculpted thousands of times. There are a few portraits of her in their permanent collection! She’s currently writing an autobiography about her life as a Muse, and wants to turn it into a tv show!
Trust me; this lady’s talents know no bounds.
Crystal and I were classmates in a Commercial Art class in the early eighties at Lehigh County Vocational Technical school – and even back then, I knew she was destined for bigger things.
She’s made her life a work of art.
I was fortunate enough to be able to get her to sit down with me and talk about her early design career in Los Angeles – where she was in the Art Department at the world famous Tower Records on Sunset Boulevard (where she had crazy experiences with Prince, David Lee Roth, Tom Jones, Michael Jackson, Christopher Lee and other stars), and what she learned about teaching art to kids in underserved schools in NYC.
Crystal also shares an embarrassingly funny story about what happened on my first visit to New York City during a high school class trip, where I had a “Larry David”/George Costanza/Seinfeld meltdown inside a restaurant over the price of orange juice. This was a fun conversation to have and one that I know you will find entertaining and inspiring.
So here’s our Ad Yack with Crystal Durant!
Thank YOU to our sponsor, ASR media.
