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In this episode we’ll be talking to our very own Treehouse Teacher, street performer, and quite possibly the funniest guy I’ve ever met, Joel Kraft.
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Hi, I'm Craig.
0:00
Welcome to the Treehouse Show.
0:01
The Treehouse Show is our weekly
conversation with the Treehouse Community.
0:02
In this episode, we'll be talking
to our very own Treehouse teacher,
0:10
street performer and quite possibly the
funniest dude I've ever met, Joel Kraft.
0:13
Stick around afterwards for backstage
access to one of our Treehouse open mics.
0:17
Thanks for being on the show, Joel.
0:21
>> Yeah, thanks for having me.
0:23
>> I was wondering if you
can tell the students,
0:24
how did you get started in technology?
0:26
>> Well, I kind of approached
it from a DIY perspective.
0:30
I wanted a website and
I just wanted to build it, so
0:34
I kinda started and I had help.
0:39
I had some friends that knew how to build
websites, so they kind of got me started.
0:41
But that really is like once I started,
I couldn't stop.
0:47
>> What website did you build?
0:50
>> I'm a musician.
0:53
>> Okay.
>> And so I built a music website to kind
0:54
of just like here's what I'm playing,
here's some of my songs.
0:56
>> Okay.
>> Stuff like that, and
1:00
just a real simple HTML CSS.
1:02
>> Okay.
>> To start with.
1:05
>> Like a static slate?
1:06
>> Yeah, static slate.
1:07
>> Okay, what you do from there?
1:08
>> From there, I-
>> So you get the skills,
1:09
you get the design skills to-
>> Yeah, it means, it's quote, end quotes.
1:12
>> Okay.
>> I don't know,
1:16
I would tend to hire a graphic designer.
1:17
But it was all right, it was awhile ago.
1:19
>> Okay.
1:23
>> Anyway, yeah, so I built that, and
1:25
then I've always been kind of
interested in programming.
1:28
But never really super confident
about my ability to program and
1:32
so I would kind of study
JavaScript on my own time,
1:38
kind of just dreaming and
thinking about it.
1:42
And then I was working on a project
at work where I used to work and
1:46
there was this project that needed
a programmer and nobody was available.
1:52
And it was a project that I was on and
1:57
I just took a stab at it and
it was super fun.
2:00
>> Okay.
>> And I got way into it and
2:04
I read all all about JavaScript, and
kind of like best practices, and
2:06
I refactored my code cuz it didn't
work very well at first, and
2:10
I took out the nested four loops, and it
worked a lot better, that kind of thing.
2:14
So that's kind of-
>> What book are you reading?
2:20
>> I read a lot of books.
2:24
I actually used to work at the library.
2:25
>> That works.
2:27
>> So there was this whole technology
section I would just kind of go to
2:28
whenever I could.
2:31
[LAUGH] And just, yeah,
I would take stacks of books home.
2:32
>> [LAUGH] Nice.
2:35
>> So yeah.
2:37
>> Awesome,
what do you teach here at Treehouse?
2:38
>> I teach JavaScript.
2:42
>> Okay.
>> It turns out.
2:42
>> Okay, from those books?
2:43
>> Yeah, right.
2:45
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
2:45
[LAUGH]
>> Okay.
2:46
>> That's the trajectory.
2:47
>> And you have, actually, a fun little
piece of knowledge about what you do teach
2:49
here, because you teach
more than we actually see.
2:53
>> That's true.
2:56
I'm a curriculum developer, so
I write courses for other people to teach.
2:56
>> Okay.
>> So I wrote a Rest API course using
3:02
Express, and I wrote JavaScript and
the DOM, DOM scripting by example.
3:06
So Gil Hernandez taught
those last two courses, and
3:12
then Andrew Chalkley taught
the Rest API course.
3:16
>> Cool.
>> So yeah, but
3:21
I kind of created the script.
3:22
>> Okay, awesome.
3:25
>> Yeah.
>> Awesome, so
3:25
those are your words flowing through and
Gil there.
3:27
>> Yeah.
>> Okay.
3:31
>> To a degree, yeah.
3:31
[LAUGH]
>> Did that feel weird?
3:32
>> It's a little funny.
3:33
It's interesting to try
to write in their voice.
3:36
I think I kind of have to just let
that go, cuz they kinda take it,
3:38
and they do their own
thing with it as well.
3:42
>> Okay.
>> But yeah, it's intriguing.
3:44
To write for someone else is,
yeah, it's a little funny.
3:49
[LAUGH]
>> That's right.
3:52
>> [LAUGH]
>> So Joel,
3:53
I was wondering if you could tell
the students a little bit about you that
3:55
they might not know from
watching your courses.
3:59
>> Yeah, well I'm actually a musician.
4:03
And I perform, and I play guitar and
sing, and write my own songs.
4:06
>> What kind of music?
4:11
>> I guess it would be pop music,
but it's on an acoustic guitar,
4:13
so I guess it's that folk pop.
4:17
>> Okay.
>> I don't know.
4:19
[LAUGH]
>> Okay,
4:21
how long have you been doing that?
4:22
>> That's a guess, I guess.
4:22
>> For-
>> Probably about 10 years, I would say.
4:23
>> Good.
Wow.
4:27
>> Yeah.
4:28
>> Pretty sure I saw you playing
earlier over by the printer.
4:29
>> [SOUND] I didn't realize
anybody was watching that.
4:33
I just like to stay in practice cuz I
perform whenever I can, wherever I can.
4:38
>> Sure.
4:43
>> And if I'm on the street,
I'll play some songs and
4:43
if I'm in an elevator with other people,
4:48
I like to play songs just-
>> Okay.
4:53
>> Wherever people can't get away,
4:56
I just find that it's easier
to make it through a song.
4:59
>> Do you have goals of where
you're trying to take this?
5:03
>> Well, I'd like to be able
to play on cruise ships.
5:06
I've bought tickets on the cruise
ships and performed there, but
5:09
I would like to just be able to board for
free and play music.
5:14
>> That's a good call.
5:19
[LAUGH]
>> [LAUGH]
5:20
>> Well, speaking of music,
5:22
did you know that we are doing an open
mic here tonight at the Treehouse office?
5:23
>> I didn't know that.
5:26
>> Would you like to be on it?
5:27
>> I would love to be.
5:29
>> There's only 26 spots.
5:30
I can totally get you on there.
5:31
So you'll show up tonight?
5:33
>> Yeah.
>> 7.
5:34
>> Absolutely.
5:34
>> 7 PM.
5:35
>> I would love to.
7 PM, I'll be there.
5:36
>> 7 PM.
5:36
>> Done.
>> Awesome.
5:37
>> Yeah, I'm excited.
5:38
>> They say the human body's 98% water,
but how much of that is fizzy water?
5:40
>> [LAUGH]
>> All right,
5:44
coming to the stage next
is musician Joel Kraft.
5:46
>> [APPLAUSE]
>> Thank you, Michael.
5:50
I wrote this song for all of you.
5:57
[MUSIC]
5:59
>> Thanks for watching the Treehouse Show.
6:29
To get in touch with the show,
reach out to me on Twitter, or
6:30
hit us up in the Treehouse Community.
6:32
See you next time.
6:34
>> Hey, can I go on the open mic?
6:35
>> Yeah of course,
let me finish wrapping this up.
6:37
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