Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to James Devreaux Lewis. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

James, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I have enjoyed every project that I’ve worked on. And most of them are meaningful in different ways, but the one that is most meaningful at this point in time is probably Oakbridge. Oakbridge is our new audio drama 100% directed by me. As a producer on the show I got the scripts for editing and really liked it. I planned on directing a couple episodes, but when we decided we were just gonna have one, I thought no big deal I can do this. It was more than I bargained for. My business partner did all the upfront planning after that it was all me so this project is my baby.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

So I started acting in high school that carried over into college and once I got out of college. I had an agent for a little bit but just some things didn’t work out. Fast forward to 2020 the year the world ended… I was going to get my Covid-19 vaccine and my friend Mark says hey call me when you get done so once I was done and got home I did just that. At that time we were just having a video call over Facebook and Mark noticed a go live button so we did and that was the start of our live interactive podcast “Fat & Black Connection” a number of months in Mark started working on an audio drama (Basically a twist on old timey radio shows). The director of that show would watch our podcast. And eventually asked if I would be interested in working on the show as well so of course I did a small bit part in the show but it was a lot of fun. By this time Mark had got into helping run that show. At some point we had to come with a company name if we gonna be able to monetize projects we threw around a few names when i came up with 97toNow… representing the year we met to well now. We started working on another project where I directed an audio drama called Murder by Garlic.[From the the Files of Jack R. Abbott: Murder by Garlic] Around this time a new project came our way called Murphy’s Inc. At first I was just interested in acting on the show… long story short we ended up becoming a producer on Murphy’s Inc. had a falling out with another member of the creative staff and we knew enough to venture out on our own. Murphy’s has two seasons done with a 3rd season on the way. Oakbridge is in the can and in post production and we are hosting our first con and it happens to be the first comic convention to be held in the capital city of Nevada. The event is called Kaboom-Con, and will be held on September, 7th 2024 at the Carson City Community Center.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think the best thing would be if communities across the country had centers, where people could go and work on there passions with people who are like minded. Musicians can learn from other musicians, writers could work with other writers… and so on and so forth. These could be beneficial in just letting that creativity out.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

At 97toNow Productions we want to be a place were people can come and get opportunities they might not otherwise have. Like if you have a new show idea pitch it to us. If we can get behind we might just produce it. If you’re interested in voice acting and you’ve never done it before. Come audition let’s see what happens. If you’re a writer and want to learn how to write for a show you can possibly come work on one of our writing teams. We want to bring new stories, we want to bring new talent, new artists and give them a place to shine.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: 97tonow, fatnblackconnect, Murphysincshow, Oakbridgeshow, kaboomcon
• Facebook: 97tonow Productions, Fat and Black Connection, Murphy’s Inc., Oakbridge – A Sci-Fi Mystery Audio Drama
• Twitter: @FatBlackConnect, @MurphysIncShow, @OakbridgeShow
• Youtube: Fat and Black Connection, Murphy’s Inc.,