blog

Famous Bass Players who use [gasp!] a pick.

2010-01-20T06:47:08Z

An audience member came up to compliment me on my bass playing after a show I played a couple of weeks ago. He commented on the fact that I used a pick most of the night and said "isn't that unsusual?". I replied "not really, did you know that Paul McCartney used a pick on nearly all The Beatles records?" He was surprised.

Is Advertising Dead?

2009-08-13T16:11:59Z

I saw this video and it got me thinking, is conventional advertising really dead?

Consumers are skeptical of traditional brand messaging. They are relying more and more on referrals from friends or even strangers, on sites like facebook, Yelp and Angie's List. The video does a great job at demonstrating why the old way of doing things isn't working as well anymore. It's time for companies to approach marketing in a new way, they need to engage their clients: interact, listen and communicate, rather than dictate.

Do I really believe conventional advertising is dead? No, but I do believe it must change. Otherwise, it is possible that it could go the way of the dinosaur.

What do you think? Do you trust advertising? How do you decide where to spend your money?

For more insights on conventional advertising and social media, check out Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff.

My thoughts on food (and Food Inc)

2009-07-29T20:49:40Z

I went to see Food Inc on Sunday, thanks to a good friend who invited me. The movie was compelling. It was propoganda, for sure. But I tend to agree with most of the propoganda in the film.

Designed to Print

2009-04-15T03:56:00Z

As designers, it’s important for us to recognize our shared responsibility with the printer to produce high quality work. It’s easy for us to shirk responsibility and put all the onus on the printer, but that doesn’t serve us, the printer, or most importantly, our clients very well.

What Makes a Design “Good”?

2009-04-10T03:53:00Z

I've been thinking about design a lot lately and trying to decide what really makes a design good. Is it good because it's effective or because it's appealing? Are effective and appealing mutually exclusive or not?

E-Commerce Options Primer

2009-04-06T21:41:00Z

So, you want an online store. But how do you get started? What are the options? This article will try to address some of those questions and more.

Montezuma’s Well

2009-04-06T03:52:00Z

I traveled to Montezuma's Well on March 25, 2009. It was my first time visiting the well, even though I have lived in Arizona since 1995. The Well is a magical place. It's a sinkhole, that was created when a limestone cavern collapsed and filled with water. Over one million gallons of water flow through the well and the source of that water is still unclear. The water is a consistent 76 degrees fahrenheit, year-round. The well supports plants and animals found only there. There are leeches, amphipods (tiny, shrimp-like creatures), water scorpions, turtles and ducks living in this unique ecosystem. Due to the very high concentration of carbon-dioxide in the water, there are no fish in the well. They can't get enough oxygen.

PodCampAZ 2008, Day 1

2008-11-02T06:31:00Z

I had a great time at PodCampAZ 2008 today. I heard Jeremy Vaught, Lon Safko and Chris Perillo speak. Great job by all three. Chris Pirillo was particularly engaging. The guy really gets it and is damn entertaining too. Chris spoke a lot about Social Media and offered a lot of personal insights into his experience with it. He ended up filling in for the absent Giovannie Galluci, and gave a presentation about using social media for non-profits. He also talked a bit about FriendFeed, which I'm not currently using. I need to check that out. Lon Safko's presentation was more of a social media primer but I did pick up some valuable insights from his as well. For example, he talked about exploiting degrees of separation in LinkedIN by getting a friend to contact a friend who knows a friend. Jeremy Vaught was a little unprepared but did a good job at sharing his personal experience with social media.

Music Scenes (or the decline of live music)

2008-07-17T03:40:00Z

I was at lunch with a friend today and we started talking about music scenes, here in Phoenix, and in other cities. The Phoenix music scene has really dwindled over the last 10 years in my opinion. There used to be a lot of bars and clubs for original bands to play, especially in Tempe. Nowadays, there are only a handful. The Dygmies played hundreds of shows in the late nineties and early aughts. As we finish up our latest album, we're getting ready to start prepping to play live again but I'm not sure where we will end up. Tempe/Mesa still have Hollywood Alley, and there's The Sets and Yucca Tap Room. Phoenix has the Rhythm Room, Trunk Space, Modified Arts, Phix, and Paper Heart. There's really nothing in Scottsdale. If anyone knows of any other cool venues for original music, please let me know!