Saturday, June 28, 2014

Passion Party #518 - Deep In The Kickstarter Trenches

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The Jazz & Blues Revue is now 27 days into our 40-day Kickstarter campaign. Yesterday we crossed the $11,000 mark on our way to the $18,000 goal.  We are 62% funded, and with only 13 days to go the pressure is on. 
My back is aching from too many hours on the Internet, sending emails, posting blogs, sharing in groups.  But I feel a sense of calm.  The events of the last week have made me more certain that we will reach our goal in the next 2 weeks.
Part of actualizing the result is having a complete vision of the final product.  This week I interviewed (and booked) a Grammy-award winning studio in Los Angeles for the recording session, started confirming the musicians and the album art. As they say, "What you think about you talk about, and what you talk about you bring about." The more complete the picture, the easier it is to bring it to reality.
Four weeks in, and more lessons:
1.    Engage - engage - engage
Remember that people are not just buying a product; they are participating in an experience.  Our job is to engage people in the process of creating the project, raising awareness of WHY we are doing what we are doing.  Continuing to write this blog, sending a personal thank you email to each backer, and posting regular updates on Kickstarter are all part of that process.  The most "out of the box" idea: Posting short videos on YouTube, answering people's question about the project (Here is one I posted, answering the question "What ARE you going to do with all this money?"  http://youtu.be/ven1RG2yFak
Next week's video is going to be a visit to the recording studio!
As Captain Pickard on Star Trek says "Make it so - ENGAGE!"
2.    One more time to go wide, and then we have to go deep, and ASK

I had read that when you do a Kickstarter project there is usually a lull in donations in the middle of the campaign, and we have experienced that this last week. Next week is the first of the month, so it is time to send out my monthly newsletter to the whole database - one last blast to remind people to get on board.  After that, with 10 days left it will be time for the final push. This will involve real targeted marketing.

There are people in our database that we know planned to donate, and they have not done it yet.  Some people are waiting until the end, so they can be the "hero" and come to the rescue.  That time is now!
There are people that we know that have the financial capability to donate at a sizable level if they choose to.  Its time to reach out to them, and actually ask them to pledge at one of the higher levels - as an executive producer or to hire the band for a future event they may be planning.  Someone really famous once said, "Ask and it will be given to you", and my Uncle Moe once said, "If you don't ask, you don't get!"
3.    Keep the energy up
We have a new slogan, posted on the refrigerator:
"All I ask of you is to greet each day with a level of exuberance never before witnessed by mankind."

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Passion Party #517 - Jack's Formula for Success

I love simple formulas.

If Einstein can distill the theory of relativity down to
e = mc2,
then I know that the most compicated ideas must have
a root formula that is simple
and easy to comprehend.

Today I was reminded of Jack Canfield's formula for success.
He wrote a nice big book about it which you can spend days reading,
Or you can just remember this simple formula:

It is not the events that happen to you that dictate your life.
If you take ownership of what happens,
if you take responsibility
(in other words, you OWN your response to the events that happen)
then in the long run you control the outcome.

It is the way you RESPOND to EVENTS that creates the OUTCOME.

E + R = O  (Events + Responses = Outcome).


Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Horace Silver Dies, 85 years young

One of my heores in Jazz piano, Horace Silver, died today.  He was the source of a lot of my jazz inspiration over the years.
http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-horace-silver-20140619-story.html#page=1
Here is the LA Times OBIT
And here is a sample of his music
https://archive.org/embed/JazzInspirationHoraceSilver

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Passion Party #516 - First With The Head, Then With The Heart


(For Bryce Courtenay)

I have always been a bit of a loner.

I would much rather be on my own creating something than hanging out with a group of friends.
I always wanted to be the leader, as it is easier to keep yourself protected by being out in front.

As a front-runner, I always wanted to win.
Winning is something you work out intellectually.
Emotion clouds the mind,
and is its natural enemy.

In the past this made for loneliness
which often left me aching to share an emotion
but equally afraid that if I did so
I would reveal a weakness that might
later be used against me.

It was years later that I realized that real winning is not just a mental exercise
People connect more with the emotion than the thought process
And I had to create first with the head, and then with the heart.

So this has been the sound of the train that runs through my life
Running down the tracks,
The clickety-clack of the wheels saying
"First with the head, then with the heart,
First with the head, then with the heart..."


http://kck.st/1pHBqzB
http://passionparty09.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Passion Party #515 - Achievement Formula

Why is it
 
that some people succeed and others fail?
There is a simple formula that can  help change
a passing thought into reality.
 
For some a dream is just that,
a wish with no real desire to bring it about
only a "wouldn't it be great if..."
 
Part of it is follow-up
part of it is follow through
part of it is learning the skill
part of it is a burning desire
but the key element to the formula
is the effort one puts into making it happen
once the skill is learned.
 
Achievement = Skill X Effort 

Join me with the Jazz & Blues Revue

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Passion Party #514 - Sharing My Passion

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As you know, I am passionate about playing piano and creating jazz music.

I love sharing my heartfelt talent and love of music with others.

It gives me pleasure to give it, and I know from the response I get, people love receiving this gift.

Now, for the first time in 4 years, I am planning to go back in the studio and release an album with my new group, The Jazz & Blues Revue.  And I can use your help in making this happen.

Releasing a top-quality album of 13 songs, brilliantly performed by the best musicians in Los Angeles, is an expensive venture.  Unlike my previous 7 jazz albums, this time I have decided to use Kickstarter, a "crowd-funding" website. 

I'm looking for “first followers” to get this party started.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Kickstarter, it is a website where you pledge money to help get this album completed.  In exchange, you receive a copy of the finished CD, and many other great items, like a visit to the studio or tickets to the CD release party in Hollywood!  

Kickstarter is an "all or nothing" site, so if we do not hit our goal, you get your money back…so, you have nothing to lose, and a lot of good karma  (and some truly terrific music) to gain!

You can pledge any time between now and July 10 by going to http://kck.st/1pHBqzB

Or go to http://kickstarter.com, and search for George Kahn

Your support for this wonderful artistic endeavor is sincerely appreciated!