I spoke with my new friend and internet marketing guru, Eric S. Townsend about this challenge. “I would bring a set of maracas” he offered semi-sarcastically. “What’s with drummers and the endless supply of gear they bring? You should be able to get the job done with next to nothing. Bring maracas – people will love it!”

I thought about that and agreed. It’s not the equipment that’s most important – it’s the person getting the job done. The gear is just a tool. You can create rhythm with your hands if that’s what you have to work with.

This reminded me of a piano player with whom I used to perform in a house band in Georgetown – Doctor Hot Pepper and the Good Looks. The club lost electricity one evening. The Doctor was on piano and without hesitation shouted, “work with what ya got.” By adapting to the situation, we were still able to create with the tools available – truly unplugged! The crowd loved it and it was a great experience. The Doctor was a great entertainer and he was an easy guy to perform with. He’s no longer with us but I remember that lesson.

Recently, I watched Elvis Costello perform at the Shakespeare Theater. It was just him and his guitars. At one point he had some technical difficulties in the middle of performing his classic, Alison. He lost his guitar and without a beat kept it going, off mike! Not only did he continue in acapella with no amplification, we the audience joined in on the chorus to help out. It was a moment! We witnessed a master at his craft working with what he had available and getting the job done more than just fine.

Back to “Joe Unplugged.” I decided to bring a conga and a couple hand instruments. It was one of the best times I had performing. After all, Congressman Joe Crowley is an easy guy with whom to perform. Whather he’s on Capitol Hill, or working with constituents or strumming a guitar and singing – he’s a master at his craft.

For the month of September, a number of New York hair salons will be offering discount cuts to anyone interested in donating their hair clippings  and ponytails to create wigs for cancer patients. Another way to donate is to purchase a download of If Nothing Ever Changed.

I have followed Mitch’s career for a while (we’re from the same state) and I was honored to be asked to do this project. Our crew was small – yet we worked quickly. Going down the shot list was seamless and shooting an artist that knows how to work in front of cameras helped tremendously.

I met some really cool people who work in the industry. I was amazed to finally visit Music Row. I always assumed that the place was an area downtown that would be made up of boring office buildings and the normal offices that go with them. It is actually a collection of quaint houses with offices and studios that has a residential feel – a home business sort of atmosphere that was very comfortable.

Seeing Music Row made me think of what has happened to our own Clarendon neighborhood in Arlington VA. I remember a time when Clarendon had that quaint feel with shade trees, mom and pop shops and affordable houses. I cringe when I see the lack of imagination towering over what could have been a unique business district. The good news is there are some great little pockets of neighborhoods and business districts all over the DC area. You simply have to look for them.

Explore Video Portfolio

Explore Video Portfolio

Explore Video Portfolio

Explore Video Portfolio

Explore Video Portfolio

Explore Video Portfolio

I remember my dad gave me a hard time when I purchased my first separate component stereo system. He pointed out that you couldn’t stack records on the turntable. You see, this was an important feature for my parent’s generation. The last thing you want to do is change a record, especially if you’re hosting a party. A good host provided continuous background music for the duration.

My friends and I knew that stacking records would destroy your vinyl treasures. The clicking and popping was unacceptable. Degrading the frequency of your LPs was just not in the best interest of your musical investment. We handled records like nitroglycerin because nothing sounded better than a brand new record. The only way to keep it sounding that way was proper care and handling.

A very common event that occurred in my parent’s basement was listening/critique sessions that would take place whenever a groundbreaking album was released. Ever so delicately, the valuable disc would be removed from it’s colorful packaging and placed on my state of the art direct drive turntable. Everyone would take a seat. I’d pass the album’s cover around so we could read the liner notes. We would sit in complete silence cherishing on the short time we had to enjoy one side of an album. Very serious discussions would follow about how much our heroes ruled (or did not) in their latest endeavor.

I compare the portable and digital way of music listening these days to my uncle’s 8-track tape player in his car, convenient (yes) but horrible sounding! Our generation prided ourselves in our sound quality appreciation. The CD seemed like the natural progression in technology when it came out, but it seems as though audio appreciation in music is completely absent to the majority of music appreciators now.

I’m just as guilty as everyone else, I enjoy iTunes and listen to internet radio when I want some music. I can’t remember the last CD I purchased. Like my parents, when we entertain, I switch the home theater system to a music channel conveniently provided by my cable company for continuous background music for the duration.

Comedy/bloopers: 26%
Movie previews: 29%
Music videos: 31%
News stories: 32%

“The most-watched online videos are not professionally produced” with video shot by consumers taking up 43% of regular online video viewing.
Just because you can shoot video from your phone and upload it to YouTube…doesn’t make it a good idea. If you want to send a video of the big fish you caught on Pelican Lake to your brother in Springfield, that works great!

Question: What tells your prospects and customers that your business is professional?
Answer: Everything they see and hear about your business.

A professional website communicates you’re professional, and so does a print ad or a brochure. In fact, every marketing piece produced and distributed tells your story.

Video is no longer limited to a broadcast medium. Businesses that traditionally did not advertise on television have a great opportunity to enhance their image using new media technology. But it’s important not to make the mistakes that many companies made when desktop publishing software made its debut in the mid 80’s. Suddenly, office managers everywhere were assigned the task of “in-house graphic designer” because of a new software purchase. I sold printing back then and I remember the chaos as a result of that paradigm.

Online video is a phenomenon that is becoming more popular and there are many consumer products out there that one can have lots of fun with. But, just as you would hire a professional web developer and a professional design firm, be sure to hire a professional video producer.