This won't hurt at all.

Since we are coming into the Halloween season I thought I would tell a couple funny horror stories that actually happened to me.

I worked once at an animation company in Carlsbad California off and on for a few years. Once after they had started to develop video games they hired a young lady as a front desk person who said she was a vampire.

I do have to mention that out of over 70 people that worked their I was, for most of the time I worked there, the only Christian.

Now this was before vampires where all sparkly and helped save people. They worked her. She could only come in before the sun rose and had to stay till after it went down, San Diego country has this thing called marine layer so it helped her a lot. The paid her hourly in the winter and put her on salary in the summer,

Now about a month after they hired her I was called into HR. The lady who ran the department said I had had a complaint filed against me from the receptionist. I wore a cross at the time and I was told that because I wore a cross I was causing the receptionist physical pain since we had to interact though out the day. I should mention that she had never said anything about it to me. I was told that they could not make me remove my jewelry but the company hoped I would be sensitive to her needs and remove it.

I was like "she says she drinks blood!"

I could tell that this was a serious concern even though I thought it may have been the stupidest reason for a meeting I had ever been involved in. Could I be sensitive to the needs of the blood drinking, vampire, un-errand running receptionist?

My jewelry was causing pain? How could she even type a lower case t?

The HR lady said she understood my viewpoint but since the complaint had been officially lodged she had to call me in and address it.

I said I had a idea and that I had to run out and get something that I thought would take care of it.

I went down to Encinitas to a store called Chronicles. It was a Christian Bookstore and other gifts. I asked if they had any dove necklaces. They did and I bought it. After all if you have been following my blog you will know the relationship I have always had with doves.

So I put in on and went straight to the receptionist and asked if THIS jewelry was upsetting her. She said it was fine. so I have since then and continue now to only wear doves.

The last thing I want is to cause anyone discomfort. Happy Halloween...

The first thing is the end in music today.

I am currently reading Clive Davis's newest book "The Soundtrack of My Life." One of the things he started was Arista Records. Arista was merged with RCA. RCA this week closed Arista. That and Jive also. I loved the performers on Jive in the 1990's and 2000's. RCA is part of Sony records. Clive was president of Sony for a while also. I am friends with the current and last couple presidents of Sony. I think it would be a tough spot to be in. 

See record companies use to do 6 things

• Find new performers
• Record music for the performers
• Manufacture in solid form the music. Records/Tapes/CD's
• Market the music
• Promote the music to radio
• Protect the music from infringement. 

The first thing I noticed a few years ago was the trend for labels to fire their A&R departments. They stopped looking for new performers. They concentrated all their efforts in their heritage performers. In one way it made sense. Labels use to have a saying 7 out of 10 performers lose money. 2 break even and one will make enough money to pay for the other 9 and the next 10. So why not just spend all your time one the proven performers. 

Maybe because for the past 40 years you have trained the public to expect new emerging performers and trends. 

Record music for the performers. They use to have there own studios, Producers, and Engineers. That may be why in the past producers where so sought out. Now you still have a few high profile but their records are so hit or miss they have become hired guns. It was great when musicians played music and you didn't have systems that people could build music in their bedrooms. Yes build. It has now become move this track or stem over a beat and create songs and loops that you,,,

Release on iTunes, and CD Baby. Manufacturing is gone. In fact Sony as an example use to have 11 dedicated manufacturing plants in the US alone. Now they share the same one that UMG and WB use.  Here is the major reason that the music industry is dead. No matter what else 

if you do not have a PRODUCT to sell you are out of business.

And why market music when everyone who can record can sell their product at the same outlets. iTunes. 

The next thing I noticed was that the FTC had for years blocked Labels from radio. In the old days the term was payola. Labels would pay and gift DJ's to get their music on the radio. Why, because people would hear new music and buy the music and that was somehow unfair. 

Today, the touring companies have bought the radio stations. Yeppers LiveNation and AEG now own a large share of radio. Who do they play? Why the bands that are touring with LiveNation and AEG. I guess the FTC was right. Not very fair to the Labels though. BTW they also own the ticketing companies, promotion, and have vested interests in production. I should mention also that they now have a management arm for the artist that sign LiveNation deals. I think it is funny that LiveNation festivals are 100% paid for before they ever sell a ticket (Sponsorship) and that a large number of their festivals are sold out before they ever release the performers line up. There goes the notion that its all about the music. 

Last I guess I should mention protecting the music, Why? If you post it on Youtube and Vemeo and someone infringes, well you get paid. That is why Bieber was making a million a week with every little girl in the would posting her singing his songs. He gets 50% of the ad at the bottom of the post. Now he is having lip syncing contests. The best part of this is that all the lawyers that had been chasing people for infringement are now looking for other forms of income. It has changed so much that most of the performers I work with use Creative Commons so that others WILL use their tracks and stems. Even the Federal protection laws so restrictive for this new environment have had to create another for of looser protection. Of course the only reason for copywrite was for litigation.

So bottom line. It looks like Labels may soon be a thing of the past. I BTW have had 4 label deals. None of them really good. The biggest problem I think people have had with them was that they didn't know what a label did. I wish I had a buck for every performer I have met that said his label wasn't booking them and they had no shows. I, for years, would argue that the labels didn't do booking, that was a agent which on most cases wouldn't book you without a label deal. Now that people are getting LiveNation deals could agents be a thing of the past also? I know I am not applying to any agency's.

You might want to keep quiet and come with me.

In 2010 I was able to something even I find extraordinary. I was able to be on and work on every continent of the Earth that people live on. The only place I didn't go was Antarctica. I was called to work in October with the Country Gold Tour and we were going to go to Japan and China. We were in the Southern most island of Japan and visited Mt Aso which if you have ever toured with a bunch of country musicians could be a blog in itself,

We flew from Nashville to Detroit and were suppose to go over the Pacific but because of a Typhoon we had to re route over the Arctic the Russia and China. Our route had to take us 400 miles from North Korea but we were changing planes in Seoul. We were about 2 hours into the flight when I realized that when we had left the sun was shining into the left side of the plane. Now it was coming in on the right. It had never gone down, we just met it on the other side of the planet. Well kind of,,,

I opened the sliding blind to see that the sun was shining through the ice. It was at a level on the horizon that caused the ice to be blue and orange, red, teal, and purple. Imagine a sunset, all mixed up, laying underneath you. It was as if Picasso had pained a sunset. Like as far as you can see. With the Arctic blue sky and the sun on the horizon. It was so amazing. I had to yell to the band behind me. "Guys look out your window."

The guys kind of sleeping yelled back, "Art's shut up."

"No really, look out the window."

No really, SHUT UP!!!

"Guy's,,, LOOK OUT the freaken window."

"ART, SHUT THE F*&^ UP!!!"

By this time other passengers on the plane were opening their windows and you heard gasp's and OMG's. Photos were being taken and everyone was up by this time. It was quite spectacular. One of the many things in nature you only get one chance at ever seeing. I apologize because there is no way to describe it here, that would in anyway, accurately do it justice.

About 2 hours later one of the flight attendants came over to me and said, "Excuse me Mr Wasem you might want to be quiet and come with me."

Always up for a adventure (especially with a flight attendant) I followed. We went to the back of the plane and ALL the attendants were there waiting for me. The one that came to get me said that I might want to look out the window on the door. She knew I would appreciate it but that I might not want to share it with the other guest on the flight. I knew she was meaning the band. I looked out the window and there it was.

The Great Wall of China.

From 32,000 Feet.

It was really awesome. I kind of felt sorry for the other 250 people on the plane but I understood not wanting to cause a scene about it.

I took a couple pictures, thanked them for their thoughtfulness and returned quietly to my seat feeling quite blessed. Again!!!

Two creams and no sugar please.

Something happened when I was in 3rd grade. I don't remember what it was. I was pulled out of the school I was going to and put into a new school where they tested me every day and had me sit with a counselor. I have been going to a private boys school called Mount Providence in Normandy MO. The new school had the name Grace in it but I do not think it was a normal school. I only went there for a few months. I remember they had atomically correct dolls to play with. Naked dolls. They also had big mirrors in the classrooms. If the light was right you could see through them and there was a room with people on the other side. I liked to see if I could jump over to them and cup my hands around my eyes and watch them try to hide. I realize now that teachers do not all wear white smocks like they did there. One of the last meetings I had there was with my counselor and my parents I remember him saying that in his opinion I could live in normal society but never really be a part of normal society. Now when you had a self image with that label you might just have a different life than every one else you know.

It was also in my 3rd grade year that my teacher at Mt. Providence told us that we all had to be individuals. If you have ever seen a group of 8 year old boys with their shirts untucked, shoes untied and zippers down you will know what she was trying to do. It was the colors of our time...

Anyway I thought, if every one is trying to be different, to really be different, I should try to be the same. I should try to be like everyone else and that would make me the only one doing that so I would be the different one. I guess it worked I got thrown in a stupid school where I was told I could kind of fit in.

Now here's the good part. I read. I read a lot. I read about people that change the world. People don't write a lot about people that don't change the world. These people are different. They seem to operate in society but are never really part of it. They change it. There is also a real big revolution of everyday people protesting the top 1% here in the US. I have to laugh at them because I know they never go outside of the US and they don't realize they are all part of the top 3% of the world. I wonder if the top 1% have ever been told that they can operate in society but never be part of it. I believe the protesters would have been called "the Mob" in Rome.

To wrap up this morning I was told once there are 2 types of people and the same water that hardens a egg will soften a carrot. Meaning in a boiling situation some hearts will harden against the world and some will soften. I believe there is a 3rd type. A coffee bean. They just change the water.

So in summery, I have tried to be like everyone else only to be different, I can survive in Society but will never be a part. I might actually be in the top 1% of the world and I may also be a coffee bean,

My self image is pretty secure and it is time for a refill.

Once a Day

I guess it was about 20 years ago it started. For even a while before that I would use New Years Eve as a time to create resolutions to do throughout the year. These where always different from others resolutions where other people seem to want to give something up or start a new habit. My resolution were things I was going to do sometime in the up coming year. This particular year I was going to read the Bible. I didn't want to take to big a jump so I got the New Testiment only Bible in in Year. It's about a third the size of the whole Bible. It started me on a regiment of reading every day. I remember how excited I was when on December 31 a year later When I actually finished it.

The next year it was the entire Bible and once again I finished it in a year.

The next year I heard that there were 31 Proverbs and 31 day in certain months so I started reading a Proverb a month. I did that every day for that year.

The next year I started reading a chapter a month. I have been doing that now for about 20 years. Mostly business books and Biographies. Once or twice a year I will pick up a fictional story. I guess I have read 20-30 books a year for about 20 years.

A few months ago I reread Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz. I have decided that I will reread a chapter a day till the end of the year. I will supplement it with bio's only. One of the things in PS is that you need to remind yourself of past success's and not failures so in my journal I have ended each daily entry with a positive reminded from my past.

This morning my ASM, (read all about it) suggested that I blog my success's. I think that's a good idea. I really would not like to be remembered for my failure's. Beside's there might not be enough space on the web for those. So.

I  was on the set of Nashville last week and I received a text from a client Julie S. at the Monroe Harding Foster Care center. I had done their Summer Carnival a couple weeks earlier. While there she had said they were having trouble finding Faster Families. I mentioned that I was on the board at MADD and since these are parents that have lost kids to drunk divers maybe they could set up a table at the MADD walk in a few weeks? I am on the logistics team for that event also. She said in her text that she had been accepted as a table for the Upcoming MADD event.

The next text was from the Chair at MADD and the text thanked me for recommending Monroe Harding. She said it may be a great way to bring healing to the Parents who have suffered such a great loss.

As I read the text I said in my outer voice "Wow, I'm so cool." That was overheard by a couple people who didn't know me. When I realized how arrogant that sounded I had to tell them the whole story. After I did told them I said I was saying it because of the way things where working out and that I was not cool but this event I was orchestrating was. One lady stopped me and said, "No I agree. You are cool."

Well Okay if you must think so?

Lessons from Chi

My father and I had a very difficult relationship. Mostly because of me I am sure. He was killed when I was 19 and the authorities have so far not been able to find the killer. The story is I was afraid of being lost as a child so I named him Chi. If I yelled Dad all the other dads would come but if I yelled Chi only he would come find me.

When I was young he had a number of jobs like most young men trying to find their way in the world. He worked as a salesman and a music teacher. He taught English as a second language and music. He studied hard and became a Insurance Salesman and helped to create a new industry called Financial Planning. In fact he was the first Dean of the College of Financial Planners. We take it for granted but I remember him traveling around the country telling people about this new field. He wrote a book and had his name removed by an unscrupulous partner. Can you believe that??? Anyway he taught me 2 things I have used all my life.

1)      Only a Lawyer can legally give you legal advice and only a Doctor can give you legally give you medical advice, but ANYONE can read their books.

2)      If you have something to do you have never done before find the laziest person to do it because they will find the easiest way.

I think he would say outwork Everyone but think lazy and read everything.

Do you know I read a chapter a day? My own personal discipline and I pride myself on outworking everyone. I know I am considered a Know-it-All, but in my defense think if you had read 30 – 35 books a year for 40 years in any field that you were facing or that caught your fancy? Now with the internet what I am able to research and retain is incredible.

I guess my dad left a mark on me I am very proud of. I wish he could see what I have become. I never told him but I am proud of what he became. 

Awesome Wasem

So this will be really short. I was at church a couple months ago and my Pastor, Pete Wilson, mentioned that when we go to to heaven we will be given new names. I wondered what mine would be. God spoke to me and asked if I remembered what my name was before I was a Christian?
I thought 'well, I was called Art the Fart'
What do they call you now that you are a Christian?
'they call me Awesome Wasem'
I felt a smile,
Wait, my name is Awesome?
Smile
Wow, Thats Awesome.
We both smiled,,,
Doesn't end there. The next Tuesday I was at work and ran into a colleague and he called me Awesome Wasem as he passed. I mentioned that it was cool he remembered my last name.
He said it wasn't hard since when I had given him my phone number he noticed that the phonetic spelling was aw-sem. He said he remembered it because my first initial and last name pronounced the word awesome.
56 years on the planet and I never realized that my name spelled aw-sem and always has.

When my kids were growing up we had a ritual. When you pulled my finger you got a hug. Around 8 they were invited to their first sleep over and when they came home in the morning the first thing they would say was, "You know that pull the finger thing? It not the same in every house."
My ex looking less than amused would say "You really waited 8 years for that joke?"
Yeppers?
I realized God had planned my name since the beginning.
I know He is planning something awesome in your life also. Have you found it? I would love to know what it is.