David is a writer, actor and musician. He is the past host of the interview show Insight on Capital Public Radio. His writing has appeared in The Sacramento Bee, as well as in The Miami Herald, The Orange County Register, The Portland Oregonian, The San Francisco Examiner, The Rocky Mountain News, The San Diego Union Tribune and the International Herald Tribune. He is the former editor-in-chief of the Sacramento Press.

Last October, David moved to New York City to, as he puts it “try some new things”. He is currently working on a one-man show that will be produced this coming May. He pointed out that storytelling shows and monologues are very popular in NY at the moment. He likes the challenges inherent in live performance and particularly likes that “getting out in front of people and performing is a clear, distinct thing, that can’t be copied as opposed to writing a piece or doing a video on YouTube.”

Our conversation shifted towards the business of creativity and making a living from your art. Jerry noted that for most people whether creatives or athletes etc, fame and fortune rarely go together. Yet too often the focus remains not on making great art, but rather on making it big.

We discussed how someone who hopes to earn a living from their art, whatever form that takes, can give themselves an edge by taking the focus off of the myth of “making it big” and instead put the focus on “making it small.”

You can find David on the internet at davidwattsbarton.com. He is taking a self-imposed 45 day hiatus from his blog and social media in order to focus on his one-man show and other creative projects.