Jason Bays talks about Kung Fu Robot, Frankenstein and more in this week’s Pitch questionnaire

Name: Jason Bays

Occupation: Children’s content creator, designer, daydreamer, robot drawer, professional 10-year-old

Hometown: Amsterdam, Missouri (bonus points if you know where that is)

Current neighborhood: Currently roaming free throughout many neighborhoods.

What I do (in 140 characters): I create stories and characters that I hope will inspire children to someday be daydreamers as well.

What’s your addiction? Stories told to me by kids. This is my inspiration. Kids love to tell stories and are usually dying for someone to listen to them. I love hearing the stories, and I love playing a small part in validating a child’s imagination in some way.

What’s your game? I’m pretty sure I’m going pro in breakfast or barbecue eating.

What’s your drink? Red cream soda or chocolate malts

Where’s dinner? B.B.’s Lawnside. Food is amazing, and the atmosphere is even better.

What’s on your KC postcard? Town Topic in a snowstorm. Nothing says KC to me more than sitting in Town Topic and watching it snow.

Finish this sentence: “Kansas City got it right when …” It built the Performing Arts Center.

“Kansas City screwed up when …” There’s anything to do with public transportation. That’s all I’m saying.
 
“Kansas City needs …” To give itself a little more credit and not be so afraid to brag about itself. And Kansas City needs to quit trying to be like other cities.

“In five years, I’ll be …” Hopefully five years older … and have hopefully done my part to put KC on the map as a creative force to be reckoned with. I really want to pull from KC’s innovative heritage and remind the world that KC is a creative juggernaut.

“I always laugh at …” The most inopportune time. I can find a reason to laugh in almost any situation. I have yet to find a situation where people don’t want to laugh. I can’t stand a room that’s full of tension. Plus, most of what I do is really about finding the humor in any situation.

“I’ve been known to binge-watch …” Really bad movies: bad kung fu movies, bad monster movies.

“I can’t stop listening to …” Bach, unaccompanied cello concertos because they’re simply some of the most beautiful moments in the history of music; Willie Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger because it might be the single most perfect album ever recorded. The album weaves a story throughout, and by the end, you feel like you’ve experienced a wonderful example of storytelling in the form of music. And anything that came out of the Delta after 1913. I’m a huge Delta-blues fan. Son House’s “Death Letter Blues” is pretty much a religious experience every time I hear it.

“I just read …” Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus again for the 50th time. This book is a necessary evil in my life. I see it as the beginning of mankind’s fear of being undone by their own creation. It is a reminder that there are moral implications to most of what we do and what we create. That there is more to creating something than just doing it because we can. And a reminder that a person’s ambition is usually their own undoing if not kept in check. Plus, the dialogue between monster and creator in the middle of the book is some of the most hauntingly perfect dialogue ever written. And I reread The Hobbit. Who doesn’t daydream about an adventure and fighting dragons? And Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces. For me, this is a textbook for anyone writing.

The best advice I ever got: Nothing is sacred, and never take yourself too seriously, from my high school art teacher, J.J. Higgins. I’ve used the advice a lot along the way. So if this all goes bad, it’s all her fault.

Worst advice: What’s the worst that could happen?

My sidekick: My son, Ashby

My brush with fame: Hasn’t happened yet. At least, I hope not. If it did, I totally wasn’t paying attention and missed it, which would sum me up pretty well.

My 140-character soapbox: A general statement would be that everyone needs to calm down, appreciate what they have, and try and have a little more fun … and not worry about saying anything in 140 characters.

What was the last thing you had to apologize for? Oh, I’m sure I’ll need to apologize for this questionnaire. Sorry, everybody.

Who’s sorry now? Everyone who reads this.

My recent triumph: Starting a business I really had no idea how to do, but just knew I wanted to do it. And I made 250,000 people read a story about a robot making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. That’s pretty cool.

Bays is in the midst of a Kickstarter campaign to fund a hardcover book, How to Make a Peanut Butter, Jelly and Kung Fu Sandwich, featuring Kung Fu Robot, and a mobile app. The campaign ends Friday, December 12.