Won't You Be My Neighbor?
SUCCESS!
In April an idea was floated at work to have a meet/greet
inviting the public to meet with some musicians featured on our show.
Two weeks later,
the execs had approved a $2000 entertainment budget
for a 6 hour long mini free community music festival.
I would book/stage it,
and our event coordinator and marketing manager would do the rest.
AND.
THEY.
DID.
Yesterday was the big event.
And it's just so consistently surprising
(and enjoyable!)
to work with these...
ACTUALLY FUNCTIONAL TEAMS
and I will never get used to it.
It's stressful organizing a big event.
Not just the logistics of people/places/things
but the OTHER noun...
"state of being"
is the overlooked detail that I am good at chasing down.
Not everyone understands
how to organize
a mood.
But I do.
And I did.
The turnout was fantastic,
and the crowd enthusiastic
the show was beyond almost all expectations.
Several strangers sought me out,
specifically to tell me how much they loved the line-up.
They didn't know I was the booker,
they just knew I was affiliated
(official nametag)
and wanted
"someone there"
to know how much they loved the music
- which made it
even better.
And two people talked specifically about
the exact thing
that pulls my heart strings
and why I do
what I've been doing
for 15 years.
It's when people realize
that there are WORLD CLASS musicians
writing/playing EXTREMELY GOOD original music
right
here.
Someone... who has only ever been a fan of celebrity-musicians
being blown away by watching
some no-name local talent
at a bar or a park....
rip the top off the place
and realize:
incredible talent
can hide in obscurity
right in front of you
like a magic trick.
Preciousness
hidden
in plain sight
they can't believe their eyes.
That's just what I like to prove.
Talent and fame
are two very different things.
It went off without a real hitch,
because I'd spent the last week
(including that very morning)
working out the last dozen
last minute
major/minor problems
as the gestated Plan
prepares to become
to An Actual Physically Happening Event.
I also brought a few extras
(and a few extra-extras)
that made everything
go along even better.
For the last set,
a full-sized ladder
(fire-engine... the extra-long kind)
from the nearby fire station
pulled up alongside the stage to watch the show
from their cab for a half-hour.
It felt like a real party.
And I am tired today,
like it was a real party.
Sailor was my support team,
as much as my co-workers.
He's so absolutely wonderful
it's hard to even explain.
It's hard to even DESCRIBE.
He's a hero,
just by being himself,
It's incredible.
He's incredible.
In April an idea was floated at work to have a meet/greet
inviting the public to meet with some musicians featured on our show.
Two weeks later,
the execs had approved a $2000 entertainment budget
for a 6 hour long mini free community music festival.
I would book/stage it,
and our event coordinator and marketing manager would do the rest.
AND.
THEY.
DID.
Yesterday was the big event.
And it's just so consistently surprising
(and enjoyable!)
to work with these...
ACTUALLY FUNCTIONAL TEAMS
and I will never get used to it.
It's stressful organizing a big event.
Not just the logistics of people/places/things
but the OTHER noun...
"state of being"
is the overlooked detail that I am good at chasing down.
Not everyone understands
how to organize
a mood.
But I do.
And I did.
The turnout was fantastic,
and the crowd enthusiastic
the show was beyond almost all expectations.
Several strangers sought me out,
specifically to tell me how much they loved the line-up.
They didn't know I was the booker,
they just knew I was affiliated
(official nametag)
and wanted
"someone there"
to know how much they loved the music
- which made it
even better.
And two people talked specifically about
the exact thing
that pulls my heart strings
and why I do
what I've been doing
for 15 years.
It's when people realize
that there are WORLD CLASS musicians
writing/playing EXTREMELY GOOD original music
right
here.
Someone... who has only ever been a fan of celebrity-musicians
being blown away by watching
some no-name local talent
at a bar or a park....
rip the top off the place
and realize:
incredible talent
can hide in obscurity
right in front of you
like a magic trick.
Preciousness
hidden
in plain sight
they can't believe their eyes.
That's just what I like to prove.
Talent and fame
are two very different things.
It went off without a real hitch,
because I'd spent the last week
(including that very morning)
working out the last dozen
last minute
major/minor problems
as the gestated Plan
prepares to become
to An Actual Physically Happening Event.
I also brought a few extras
(and a few extra-extras)
that made everything
go along even better.
For the last set,
a full-sized ladder
(fire-engine... the extra-long kind)
from the nearby fire station
pulled up alongside the stage to watch the show
from their cab for a half-hour.
It felt like a real party.
And I am tired today,
like it was a real party.
Sailor was my support team,
as much as my co-workers.
He's so absolutely wonderful
it's hard to even explain.
It's hard to even DESCRIBE.
He's a hero,
just by being himself,
It's incredible.
He's incredible.