Interview: Nia Peeples—The Elements of Life - Page 4

It’s worth mentioning that then-future record executive Benny Medina was on the show with you!

That’s right. Oh, my gosh, you’ve done some digging. The last time I saw Benny, I just had to rip him about that! He’s ultra-cool man now. Back then, he was the starving-artist Benny Medina, trying to schmooze his way on to anything. He played the bass player in our little band. But the funny thing is, when he came in to audition, he didn’t really know how to play bass. So, he wrapped his left middle finger in a splint of some sort and said that he broke his finger—so he couldn’t really play for them! [laughs]

It was a really cute show, obviously kind of low-budget!

Oh, God, yeah! Where did you find those episodes? That’s hysterical.

Well, there was a DVD put out a few years ago that has several episodes. You can get it on Amazon.

Are you kidding me? I didn’t even know that.

I never see it mentioned! But then I dug deeper, ’cause I’m an avid collector. I found three original VHS releases with a lot of episodes. I love stuff like that, you know, “before they were stars.” I suppose that the show was designed as a vehicle for the late Gary Crosby?

I was so fresh to it that I didn’t understand what it all was. Looking back on it, though, I realize that’s what it was. Most of the other kids were professional actors. They all had agents who came to the set—who all gave me their cards. And that’s how I got my first agent.

Let’s talk about Elements of Life. Who and what were some of the factors that shaped this company coming into life?

Well, I don’t even call Elements of Life a company. It’s a philosophy. Really, it has more to do with my upbringing than anything else. I’ve been through a lot of incarnations and a lot of career moves. I’ve met some very interesting people, from the wealthiest of the wealthy to the poorest of the poor. I’ve worked with some very creative people and top-of-the-line business people. But everything was kind of the same to me, because I was so grounded in certain beliefs. Throughout my career, people have come and they’ve asked me to write a book on this, or have a skin-care line, or write a book on health, beauty and fitness. They’d ask me how I achieved a certain thing; and it seemed so superficial to give a short answer.

Article Author: Justin Kantor

Justin Kantor is a music journalist with a passion for in-depth artist interviews and reviews. Most of his interviews for Blogcritics can be heard on his Blog Talk Radio program, "Rhythmic Talk."
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