Rob Walker is a talented writer, with an incredibly impressive output, and across a wide array of media, no less. A longtime contributor to The New York [...]
While he was in town for our recent Imprint Culture Lab – Long Beach Work In Progress creative conference, our partner Jeff Staple also set up an installation at one of LA’s premier menswear boutiques – American Rag on La Cienega Blvd in West Hollywood. Since his brand is based in NYC, Jeff took the opportunity to use the coveted AmRag window-space to showcase 16 years of Special Projects and other goodies to LA walkers-by. Learn more about it in this video from Hypebeast.
One of my best friends is graduating college this month and I couldn’t be any happier for him. He spent most of his “college years” serving his nation in the Army so it’s great to finally see him accomplish this feat. His graduation reminded me how much I truly enjoy graduation speeches and got me excited to see the many videos that will inevitably be shared on YouTube in the coming months.
There is one particular video that has been making its rounds in the social atmosphere lately by David Foster Wallace. He gave this speech in May 2005 but someone recently uploaded it to YouTube sync’d up with some video. It has already received close to five million views with no end in sight. Unfortunately, David committed suicide back in 2008, ironically, from severe depression…but needless to say, his “This is Water” speech is still one of the best I have ever heard.
A recent article I read mentioned that everyone, and not just entrepreneurs, should constantly be searching for things that inspire them. I would say this speech could fall into that category.
As long as new material from Long Beach: Work in Progress keeps trickling in, I’m going to keep blogging about it. This post features some excellent portraiture of the speakers by my friend Ben Clark. Above, Architecture and Food Panelists: Long Beach architecture experts and authors Cara Mullio and Jennifer M. Volland (Edward A. Killingsworth: An Architect’s Life, Long Beach Architecture: The Unexpected Metropolis); Pulitzer Prize winning food writer Jonathan Gold (The Los Angeles Times).
Music Panelists: Zac Holtzman and Chhom Nimol from Dengue Fever, Joe Escalante from The Vandals, Jack Grisham from T.S.O.L., and me. (Jack had to leave before Ben could photograph him, so my picture with him will have to do… )
Skateboard Panelists: Chad Tim Tim (pro for Element, Dekline), Justin Reynolds (Riviera Skateboards/Resource Distro), cinematographer Ricki Bedenbaugh (Red Bull, Element), shoe designer Paul Kwon (Wide Eyed Fever, Dekline, Vans, Element, DC Shoes).
Imprint Culture Lab regulars: Imprint founder Julia Huang (interTrend), three-time Imprint contributor and keynote speaker John Jay (W+K Garage), round table moderator jeffstaple (Imprint, Staple Design).
Not enough links for you? Try these from the Signal Tribune and the Long Beach Business Journal.
I think everyone should have a magician in their rolodex, mine happens to be Maritess Zurbano. Maritess is the only Filipina-American mind-reader and sleight-of-hand expert in the world. She spent 7 years in Las Vegas studying sleight-of-hand and magic history from Gary Darwin. She’s been a blackjack dealer, a professional baccarat player, and starred in her own illusion show in Japan. And if you wanted to know more about her, it just so happens she is working on her memoir. For now you can settle for our usual 8 questions.
What are you currently working on?
I am working with my literary agent on polishing my memoir book proposal. I’ve also switched my performance focus to stage hypnotism. I perform at events across the country.
Where do you find inspiration?
Every time I think of the following people, I smile: Gloria Steinham, Toni Morrison, David Henry Hwang, the blogger, Twisty Faster, Nelson Mandela, Napoleon Hill and the glamourous hypnotist, Pat Collins.
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a famous visual artist.
What are you reading at the moment?
The autobiography of Malcom X. I don’t know why I never read it before. Oh. I know why. Because when I was growing up, there was a stigma around him. That Spike Lee movie opened my eyes.
How would you describe your job?
A lot more difficult than it looks. My job is to amaze people, to make them believe in magic, to suspend their disbelief, to make them laugh, to give them a rollicking good time that they will never forget. My job also entails a lifetime of never-ending research and a constance revision of my work. My profession requires eternal curiosity, skepticism and optimism.
What does your average work day look like?
I wake up at 7:30am, do an hour of writing, make breakfast, drop off my son to preschool, do some hot yoga, go back to writing, rehearsal or research for 4 hours, pick up my son, make dinner, bath, we go to bed, then I wake up at 2am to do a couple more hours of writing, then we do it all over again. A couple days a week, we do play dates and I do my work while he naps or sleeps.
Is there any company or person who you’d like to work with?
I would LOVE to work with the Dalai Lama or the new Pope. Ideally, I’d like to spend a day with the Vatican exorcist. I’m just fascinated with major spiritual figures. My dream would be to work with Spike Lee on my one-woman magic show about how I became a professional Las Vegas conjurer in a male-dominated field. I’ve always been jealous that John Leguizamo got him to direct his one man show. Someday I’ll talk Spike into directing mine.
What’s your favorite post-work destination?
That depends where I am. When I worked in Japan, right after the show for six straight months, we could soak in the natural hot springs. In New York, I love hanging wherever my friends are. When my friend from Estonia is around, we go to the Russian Vodka Room. If I want to kick back with a stiff drink, I really enjoy White Star. I know La Esquina is always crowded, but I still like it. In Seattle, I go straight back to the babysitter, which is equally as thrilling as any New York party.
Check out Maritess.com for booking information.
Imprint’s very own visionary founder, Julia Huang, is a respected expert in the field of advertising, especially when it comes to understanding big brands in relation to the various segments of the Asian American community. Since she heads up our sister company interTrend Communications, the industry leader in the ever-growing niche market, her insight is unique in its perspective, as is her in-depth understanding of the context of the conversation. All of this adds up to explain why, when nationwide news platforms like Huffington Post want to get an expert opinion on an Asian American-related marketing matter, they turn to Julia, as they did with her recent “JC Penney Apology Is On the Mark” article, getting her thoughts on one household name brand’s latest advertising tactics. It’s easy to see that Julia sets the bar high – for the entire Imprint and interTrend teams to aspire towards reaching.
Paul Miller, a tech writer for The Verge, recently came back to the world of online “bliss” after disconnecting himself from it for an entire year. Initially, it appeared to be quite refreshing for him as he was beginning to connect with others more frequently in person, was getting out and about, and became more productive overall. However, as the year went on that mentality began to shift a bit. His entire year was documented and below is the end result.
Do you think you can disconnect for a full year?
We’ve mentioned 3D printing a few times on Imprint Culture Lab’s blog. But this past week 3D printing may have just shown a possible downside. Defense Dist. a nonprofit group that is focused on “creating a freely available plan for 3D printable gun”, has released a video of a 3D printed gun being fired. Question is how will they keep these from landing in the bad guys hands.
Here is the video being distributed.
Defense Dist. also operates DEFCAD a site which distributes CAD plans for gun parts, check out the video of this AR-15 30 Round Mag.
As 3D printing gets to be more accessible to people, let’s hope that they use them responsibly.
Our friend and photographer Ben Clark has been sending us previews of images that he and his team shot at the Long Beach: Work in Progress conference and they are sweet. I love how they show that the event was an actual gathering of people–and not just a collision of ideas.
And while I’ve been blabbing about the speakers and panelists–who were brilliant–the audience was just as important. The photos in this post feature them in a big way.
The day wasn’t intended to summarize obscure facts, show off our smart friends, or glorify the subject matter (the unappreciated culture and massive upside of Long Beach). It was intended to inspire and meant to be taken to the streets. How can individuals, artists, small businesspeople, and city folks nurture and share the subcultures for everyone’s benefit?
Each of the contributors whom I’ve talked to since the event has been really amped and inspired by what he or she heard and took part in, and I think that all of the attendees feel the same way. So while the conference has ended, the ripples will continue to be felt in Imprint’s home town and beyond.
On behalf of the crew and contributors (below), thanks again to everyone who took time to attend the conference and/or has followed and shared these blogs. Look for shareable videos to come…
During POWWOW 2013 I joined some artistically gifted friends for dinner at The Whole Ox one evening, and I soon got to chatting with Hisham Dahud. He’s a talented and knowledgeable young man with a wealth of expertise on the music industry, and studio drummer chops to boot. In Hawaii to teach drumming as part of the POW WOW Music School program, he also spoke at an interesting panel on the changing music business landscape. Two years ago, Hisham helped found Fame House with CEO Micheal Fiebach, who he’d met while interning for DJ Shadow. The company aims to take the digital portion of marketing & promotion off the hands of artists, managers, & labels. This includes direct-to-fan campaigns, digital merchandising, and building brands around musicians. They notably teamed up with BitTorrent for a highly successful partnership around promoting electronic musician Pretty Lights (and garnered 6 million downloads, earning the #1 Torrent title on Pirate Bay’s Top 100 Overall Downloads list), which you can read up on here. Hisham also contributes regularly to Hypebot. Read on to learn more about this inspired SF-based creative entrepreneur.
What are you currently working on?
I primarily wear two hats in the music industry:
Hat #1: I’m currently handling the day-to-day digital strategy, marketing and management for Richie Hawtin, Loco Dice, Kevin Saunderson and a few more up and comers. This is all done under the umbrella of Fame House, a digital marketing agency I helped start in San Francisco back in 2011. We’re a one-stop digital shop for the music / entertainment industry. Other clients include Shady Records, DJ Shadow, Pretty Lights, Amanda Palmer, Ultra Records, and many more. We have offices in San Francisco (which is where I am based), Philadelphia and Los Angeles.
Hat #2: Being a lifelong musician, music is something that I can never ever let go of. When I’m done at the office, I head straight to the studio and work on my music projects. One is a solo act incorporating self-made samples and myself on live drums, and the other is a collective called The Generation – a group of musicians from different backgrounds (both creatively and personally) coming together to form a totally new music experience. We aim to represent today’s new generation of music fans who are growing up with so much access to all kinds of music, that it’s impossible to be a fan of just one genre. Band members come from reggae, hip-hop, dubstep and rock, but we all dive in and create a genre all our own.
How would you describe your job?
I wouldn’t describe it as a “job” at all – it’s really a lifestyle at this point. I wake up every morning genuinely excited to check my email and witness all the growth and advancement both my company and music are making. Fame House is the yin and my music is the yang; each one feeds the other and keeps their respective fires lit. It’s a lot of fun, but also a lot of work… and a lot of diligence. It’s caused me to cut back on social outings and other indulgences, but nothing is more fulfilling to me (or more fun) than growth.
What does your average workday look like?
Typically, I wake up bright and early to get some exercise. I’ll either run a local trail, hit the gym or – ideally – catch a quick session at the local skatepark for an hour or so. From there, I head to my office in the Mission District of S.F. and begin the day’s grind.
A typical day consists of staying up on music / tech blogs, communicating with artists and their teams to coordinate digital marketing efforts, managing their online assets, strategy sessions, consultations, phone calls with clients, scouting new talent, Skype calls with my team in Philly and L.A., Photoshop work, etc. Once I’ve wrapped up all that needs to get done that day, I head to my studio where I meet with my band and pick up where we left off the night before.
What’s the best thing about living and working in San Francisco?
I grew up in the Bay Area. There’s not a day that goes by where I’m not utterly thankful. I can’t really pinpoint just one good thing, so here’s a quick list of standouts:
• The amount of highly intelligent people who are all on the bleeding edge of innovation is staggering. You’ll meet the most amazing people in line for a cup of coffee sometimes.
• The diversity. Love seeing so many people from all kinds of backgrounds, and S.F. is a great place for them to share their culture. S.F. is a very culturally sensitive and embracing city.
• The weather is phenomenal to me – not too hot, not too cold… just right.
• THE FOOD! Good grief, it’s insane. So much good eatin’ around me… it’s overwhelming sometimes.
• Beautiful views and landscapes all around, and not just in the city itself. It’s called the S.F. “Bay Area” for a reason. We have three primary bridges connecting that city to so many entirely different worlds like Napa, Marin County, Oakland, Silicon Valley, and more!
• Great live music scene, S.F. is definitely a “must-tour” spot for music artists.
Where do you find inspiration?
Anywhere and everywhere, but mostly I’m inspired by the people around me.
The Fame House team is an assembly of some of the most intelligent and creative people I’ve ever met. They always inspire me to do better and be better. I’m also fortunate enough to be working with some of the biggest names in music, and I learn so much from them and their teams everyday.
My band also inspires me heavily. They’re all 100% dedicated to making a living from their art, and that inspires me to go the extra mile for them. There are some nights when I’m mentally and physically drained from all the work I did in the day, but their passion and dedication make me tough it out.
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grow up?
Weather I knew it or not, I wanted to be a musician and held the typical fantasy of becoming a rock star.
I first began playing the drums at 12 years old by building my own little makeshift “drum sets” out of pencil boxes, shoe boxes, pots & pans, etc. and would “practice” by just jamming out to hand-me-down CDs and tapes I got from my older siblings. I eventually got a real kit when I was 13 or so. I was in high school rock bands, symphonic bands, pep bands, indie rock bands, Arabic folklore bands… I just wanted to play the drums. I would always take whatever project I was working on very seriously with the utmost desire to get better. It wasn’t until college that I began to explore music – and the music business – as a viable career pursuit, and I’m glad I did that.
What are you reading at the moment?
I try zoning out from the music business once in a while and inject myself with knowledge of other worlds, most of which are recommended to me by my colleagues and mentors.
I’m working on a few at the moment:
• The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield
• The Evolution of Desire by David Buss
• Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
What’s your favorite post-work destination?
The studio, hands down. But if a friend is performing in town, or I just need to unwind from it all, a club / venue with a good sound system and good crowd is all I need.
While the whole show was a tremendous team effort, our talented friend and dedicated co-worker Martin Wong deserves lots of credit for curating the content and coordinating everything with the wonderful speakers who appeared at our Long Beach Work In Progress creative conference last Friday. And as if that wasn’t enough, Martin was kind enough to post about the day on the Giant Robot website, so head over there for a different perspective on everything that took place. You can check out the details of the Strange Symbiosis group art exhibition which opens at their West LA gallery location tomorrow while you’re at it.
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