tankt

I am not a musician. In spite of such a strong personal affinity to music, I lack even the most basic instincts among its instruments. Instead, I rely on my deep appreciation of it, one which admittedly borders on the obsessive at times, to bring me near to nirvana. To be sure, I am a helpless junkie, always looking for a new fix to tickle my ears and lift my head to the heavens…

I am fortunate to have met and become close friends with many extremely talented, and prolific, musicians in my life. We have, at various times, with various strategies, and with even more varying degrees of success, attempted to sell their wares on the open market. It was not an easy business to enter, let alone master, to say nothing of making a profit. Even with critical acclaim, the cost of doing business the old fashioned way (pressing vinyl, of course) was prohibitive.

Ultimately, we put those dreams on hold and went our separate ways. I was thrilled when Stewart Brown and I recently realized that we were living less than a mile apart in San Francisco, and finally reconnected after nearly ten years apart. We are older and wiser now, and while still foolish enough to dream that same dream, we are intent on finding new ways to fulfill it…

To be perfectly honest, I never stopped thinking of how best to market music, and these thoughts only intensified as this “second life” of the internet and its free and easy tools of creation came to be. Brown’s music is infectious (in a very good way) and made to be spread far and wide, and it has long been clear to me that the ease of “spread-ability” is the key to success. So we set out to eliminate anything that inhibits the free flow of music, starting first with the cost to acquire it, so that everyone can hear it instantaneously. That is why you can stream every song in its entirety within the page itself, and even download good quality 128 kbps mp3s (no DRM!!) for free.

I was adamant that we spend as little money as humanly possible (I think our greatest expense so far was buying the domain name). Brown wrote and recorded the music, I designed and built the website, and Kristin tied it all together with her words. If I may say so, it looks and sounds like a million bucks!! Check it out at FORKLIFT ENTERTAINMENT.

I want to point out and thank a few of the many people who helped make this happen…

To Hugh MacLoed and Fred Wilson, two guys who continually experiment and explore new ideas in real-time, right before our very eyes. Their passion and persuasion inspire me to no end. I had trouble finding a singularly illustrative quote from each one, but if you’re at all interested in reading more there’s a combined 71 posts tagged on my del.icio.us from Hugh and Fred.

To Bob Lefsetz, who sums it up best in a recent post entitled “The New Reality”, “You can’t reach them by asking them to buy first. Quite the contrary, it’s like catching a fish. You’ve got to drop quality bait and wait.” He continues, “You establish a beachhead. You try to get people to notice you. And the way you do this is not through endless cross-linking and widgets and all the tools of the helpless, hapless wannabes, but quality music. It’s the only way you can get recognized.” That’s the blueprint right there.

And lastly, to my beautiful wife Abby, who has lived through my countless great ideas and nonexistent execution, who nonetheless never once wavered in her support and always encouraged me to go for it. I could not have done it without you. I love you.

Wow, that was way more than I originally intended to write; still, I left so much out.

I think Brown’s music is poised to take off, and I believe our approach to doing business can help make it happen. I am so excited to see where this goes. I would love to hear what you think, so leave me a comment here or on FORKLIFT ENTERTAINMENT.

As always, more soon.

I happened to check my feedreader for the first time since early this morning. Hugh links to this brilliant post by Fredd Kambo:

I don’t bother “networking” anymore, instead, I try to build relationships with people I find interesting, and who I think are doing interesting things. And I make it my mission to help them in any way I can to achieve their mission. I find this much more satisfying, much more honorable, and much more fun. And this is the cool thing about people….When you help them out in this way, they help you out. Not because it’s a tit for tat deal, but because both parties are engaged in a mutually beneficial relationship that extends beyond the next favor.

While I have always lived like this (or at least imagined so), I don’t know that I’ve ever been this successful with it. Things are moving quickly, but everything feels slow. It’s kinda weird to say, but it seems like my talents and abilities finally match my opportunities. And more importantly, I can finally make it happen in such a short period of time…

In less than a week, I met Annie Decamp for the first time and agreed to help her with her new website. We never even talked about a fee, I never showed her any of my work, it was just something that I / we immediately knew I / we wanted to do. =)

It’s still very much a work in progress (show me something in my life that isn’t!) but I am thrilled with it so far. Her work is exquisite, and she is about to become very, very big in Hollywood (yeah, not my scene either, but it’s an absolute must for her). I am honored to be a small part of her success.

Growing up, I always saw myself as invincible. In more ways than one. I bear few physical scars, of course there is my fakee front tooth (fixing the most ironic loss of limb ever, given how much I loves me my samiches). And I never really considered myself emotionally damaged, not saying I do now, but it is clear to me that I have never really learned how to sustain myself, to celebrate myself, to love myself, to support myself, to believe in myself…

Life throws so much at you. I like to think I can handle anything, and in the end I usually do, provided you’re patient enough to let me work through it. But I have realized lately how much I depend on others to fill me with that confidence and daring, not to mention that love and passion. Nothing wrong with that, but it perpetuates a pattern I am no longer content to let rule my life. No more false strength and false hope.

To be sure, there’s nothing like being in the moment. Living in the instant. But that worked best (or so I thought) when I was much younger, when my actions had few if any immediate consequences (yes, I paid dearly for that foolish outlook as well). But after having witnessed this show called “my life” for almost 33 years, I now know that yesterday’s “tits mcghee” is tomorrow’s “wish I would have done that differently.” Only yesterday can never be undone.

Today, however, can be done differently. Said another way… Having made poor decisions in the past does not mean I have to make poor decisions in the future. At some point you have to break the cycle, to take a longer view on life. And there’s no better time like the present.

I read so much about “compelling content” these days. How to create it. How to protect it. How to profit from it. Prince Campbell wonders if maybe we aren’t missing the point:

You may not like it but you only gain control by letting go.

He’s talking about something else, but for me the point remains the same.

I am much too concerned with what others think of me, constantly seeking answers and approval from those around me. Of course, that works well when you have a strong support network in place, which only illustrates the importance of having healthy / happy / thriving couples and individuals in your life. But the world does not always work that way, especially when you’re miles away from home… I could sit at home and avoid it all, but what kind of life is that?

I have no need to fear failure. Or even success. I cannot continue to neglect the voice inside of me. I have much too much to say. As Hugh Macloed states in THE HUGHTRAIN:

“THE MARKET FOR SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN IS INFINITE.”

We are here to find meaning. We are here to help other people do the same. Everything else is secondary.

We humans want to believe in our own species. And we want people, companies and products in our lives that make it easier to do so. That is human nature.

So for me, this new chapter in my life starts today. The past truly is prologue. I decided earlier this year to do only the things that I love, and after bouncing around for eight months now, I am finally going to make good on that promise. I want to grow healthier relationships, build more positive experiences, create more meaningful memories, for all.

And to me that means more than being compelling. I want to be consequential. I really do want to make a difference…

So no more talk about the old days
It’s time for something great

Thom Yorke—Atoms for Peace

No more going to the dark side with your flying saucer eyes
No more falling down a wormhole that I have to pull you out

The wriggling, squiggling worm inside
Devours from the inside out

No more talk about the old days
It’s time for something great

I want you to get out
And make it work

So many lies
So many lies
So many lies
So feel the love come off of them
And take me in your arms

Peel all of your layers off
I want to eat your artichoke heart

No more leaky holes in your brain
And no false starts

I wanna get out
And make it work

So many lies
So many lies
So many lies
So feel the love come off of them
And take me in your arms

I wanna get out
And make it work

I want you to get out
And make it work

I’ll be ok

So many lies
So many lies
So many lies
So feel the love come off of them

Such a astonishing song. So full of meaning in so many ways.

Before today, I was fond of saying I would gladly trade every last one of my talents and gifts to be able to sing (maybe not like Thom, but still). But I can make beautiful music of my own, and that is what I dedicate myself to do today.