I will start with the particulars to save those that need just that their time, then I ramble, then I provide some additional info on Mr. Segal. Actually I will fire my rant in there at the end.
Event Details:
Time:
8am - 11am
Date:
Monday April 14th
Location:
Sport Nova Scotia Building
5516 Spring Garden Rd
Class Room A/B - 2nd Floor
- About 2 1/2- 3 hours in length
- Informal/Free
- Small Groups
- Information on VC/Angels and the process.
- Sample Term sheets, documents, business plans, PowerPoints
- Example Pitch or Pitches to show what’s interesting/good/bad
- Open questions for a good chunk of time
- An understanding of my world
- A better feel for my industry and if raising third party capital is right for you
- A good place to start
Signing up is simple: Email rick at jlaventures dot com with the word roundtable in the subject line. Visit: http://www.eventbrite.com/org/53497882?s=896269
Other Dates/Cities:
April 14th Evening - Moncton NB
April 15th Evening - St John’s NF
More cities to be announced shortly.
Rick Segal
His bio from the JLA Ventures site:
Prior to joining JLA Ventures, Mr. Segal was President and Chief Executive Officer of Microforum, a leader in providing integrated e-business solutions in a wide array of industry verticals. Mr. Segal joined Microforum in July 2000 from Chapters Online Inc., a leading Canadian e-commerce company, where he held the position of President and Chief Operating Officer (1997-2000). Mr. Segal began working with Chapters Inc. in 1997 as a consultant on the technical development of the Chapters e-commerce venture. Based on this successful collaboration, he was named the President of Chapters Online in August 1998.
Prior to joining Chapters Online, Mr. Segal was a partner at the international firm of TMS Consulting from 1996 to 1998. Mr Segal worked at Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, Washington from 1992 until 1996 as Director of technical services for the Internet Customer Unit. Mr. Segal is also the author of four books on Network Management and Windows software development.
Mr. Segal serves as a director of Planeteye, HealthUnity, B5 Media, MusicIP Corporation, Sirit Inc., and Truition Marketplace Solutions.
There’s more personality on his blog bio:
One-Line Bio: Doing the Voodo VCs do in Canada
Biography - The really short version is this:
I’ve done:
The U.S Air Force, TRW, AEtna, Brightwork, Microsoft, Chapters Online, Microforum (painful!) and JLA Ventures.
I’ve written:
books, code, newspaper articles, magazine articles, speeches, presentations, rants and raves.
Interests
Digital Photography,Sailing,Movies, Cooking
Me Ranting
So this is not really music related, loosely connected - but it is relevant to the bigger picture. See also Jonny’s post: A tale of two Lobsters
We named our label From Here To There for a number of reasons - the significant one here being the physical distance bands from the east coast most overcome to reach a critical mass of people. That no matter how good you were, there just weren’t enough people here to sustain most bands. You had to go down the road.
So for similar business reasons, when I saw a post on Rick Segal’s blog The VC Roundtable Series - Call to Action, where he announced his intentions to visit communities across the country in order to do some VC outreach I had to respond to his questioning whether Halifax should be a stop or not [ and St.Johns etc.]. While larger centers across Canada certainly deserve his time, I believe it is the smaller regions that will benefit more from his visits.
If you ever meet me ask me about my music business plans I have - I have them in various states of completion for venues, social network aggregater(+) targeting bands, USB music related ventures, payment sites, a label and a jam space [those two have been funded at very low levels] and maybe another half dozen all music focused.
The issue isn’t finding opportunities, writing the plans or even finding the people you need on the east coast - finding money however has been a little more difficult. BUt I still refuse to believe it can not be done while remaining on the east coast.
See the SHARE THIS widget at the end of this post [all my posts and plenty of other blogs’ posts as well]? The company behind that [same name] just received $15 million in funding. Add to that the $6 million they already received and that = $21 million dollars for a ^%@#$ widget that has made no money. ZERO REVENUE. So I am quite confident that if you dear reader can invent a widget that actually generates revenue, you too could find yourself funded.
Point being though, I don’t think there is any individual or organization set-up or in the habit of doling out such amounts [and we’re talking about the $6 mil not $15] on the east coast. Particularly not for social media/music widget/donation payment/USB/aggregaters opportunities.
And that is not to say Mr.Segal would be either. But he is part of a small group, within Canada, that is active in the venture capital process. To have him spend 3 hours of his time introducing us to his world could prove invaluable should lessons learned eventually lead to funding for any participants on the 14th, or elsewhere on his trips across the country.
I had another more eloquent post on the matter that was lost due to a browser crash, but will sum my feelings up by mentioning that Mr. Segal’s visit itself represents an opportunity for entrepreneurs here to be funded. Whether via meeting him and eventually landing his support or via learning how to approach others from his talk - you may find you do not have to leave home to find the investment you need. And that will benefit everyone that calls Halifax home.
Quite looking forward to this - Halifax will be the first stop on his tour across the country (VC Roundtable - Block One) so let`s kick it off for him in fine style - hope to see you there.
ALSO SEE: Rick`s post Albert Lai and the Idiot Gap. Perfect reading for anyone planning on attending his session. His post was triggered by the following comment in a Canadian Business magazine article titled The Venture Gap:
As a purely business decision, you’d be an idiot to start a company in Canada, he says, unless you can get some capital from the U.S.
The article and Rick`s post address a number of issues in the Canadian VC scene and makes for a nice basic primer for folks interested in the opportunities available. Definitely worth reading.
Final note: Thanks to Jonny Stevens for assisting with the space hook-up
I think this is important. It may not take off, but the opportunities inherit for USB drives and music is significant in my opinion and certainly worth exploring.
Together they offer a means of tying the digital world to the real world. Tying retail purchases to social networks and fan clubs. They could be used to take fan clubs in new directions - a WillieLive USB bracelet to fan club members could entitle you to free downloads of all future concerts. Or what about VIP access for fans that show up wearing said bracelets?
I should note that all I REALLY care about is the music. I don’t care about the cover art [I have never bought a CD because it had a “cool” cover], I don’t even care so much about the liner notes, although I do miss them at times. But one could easily produce a Digipak like package with an included or even glued in booklet, but instead of a plastic tray to hold a CD in place, there is a tray to hold in a USB drive. And of course the booklet and art would also be included on the drive as high quality PDFs [?] from which the art and liner notes could be synced up with your music player/collection. The ideas/opportunities = endless.
A Few Ideas
While the idea of MP3s and lossless files [and whatever else they wanted to include: videos, websites, pictures etc.] on one format appealed to me initially [USB drives = better MP3/FLAC delivery device vs. CDs IMHO], I was more interested in the potential of USB drives tied to kick start some innovation WITH music.
Many venues/bands/labels have offered USB recordings of live concerts on your way out of the show. That’s a start. But what about coming in? What if having bought a previous live show USB drive, you plug it into a reader on your way in and get a discount on admission [or at the time of ticket purchase] for future shows.
What if when you get home you plug in the drive and it launches a website only accessible to fans with a connected drive in place [almost every idea like this will be hackable – but we are exploring these ideas in a happy-carefree bubble of fake reality]? That site can offer anything the label or artist wants to share.
My biggest plan for USB drives extends that even further and ties it into a fan club, and at the next level an entire social network. What if venues or at least bands with laptops performing at them – have a USB input for members of a shared social network that one ups Facebook’s events – beyond simply stating you intend to be there, show up, plug in briefly and ….well you can get creative here, do they just get (fan) points, some benefits, free music, all the above?
All my potential concerns or fears regarding USB drives and connecting to social networks and fanclubs was erased when I read about a VISA experiment. In Korea, where “digital became dominant years ago” you can now use a USB Credit card. While I certainly do not know the particulars about the set up I am confident that if what they have is good enough for credit card transactions, then a similar set up will handle any security concerns related to any ideas in this post.
I have also seen business proposals for USB based shopping lists: users compile a list using software for such purposes onto a drive, take it to the store and plug it into the shopping cart display unit. Customers then get directions to items in the store they need, are offered coupons, and even recipe suggestions [up selling other products] for items they have on their shopping list. Combine such a service with the VISA USB drive and they can pay with the drive as well at the checkout. What types of related ideas could be used to encourage retail purchases in the music industry?
Delegate Passes/All the Info You Need - for festivals/events – that provide USB drives at registration which you then plug into systems that can update you over the course of the event [and that would of course include music from artists part of the event]. All print materials – focusing on greening aspects important to many festivals/events today, could be regularly updated when plugged into internet connected system w/show/venue changes etc.Take it a step further and develop a weekend command center for festivals into the drive. Twitter control, profile updates, http://sched.org/, maps, all the line-ups and everything else you need. Events could offer deals for fans that use the drives while also saving on costs for some print materials.
NIN used USB drives as a tool in the ARG promotion of Year Zero and I see countless ways to further embrace USB drives in future ARGs and marketing campaigns.
Positives, beyond ongoing use/experiments from bands and labels noted below, for USB drives and music include:
Current Usage
While the format is still mainly in the realm of major level artists, you can find artists, and labels, at all levels exploring their use. Locally the only act I am aware of thus far is Shelter With Thieves.
Some Music USB Drive examples:
The biggest downside of USB drives currently is their cost. Other issues not addressed include do fans want countless drives kicking around? Can’t be any worse than the useless CDs I have now can they? At least I could give the drives to friends and they could use them for other purposes, or you keep them in their nice Digibooks until you need them to get a discount to go to a show or need access to a members only section of a site – for which such perks could help such drives retain some value.
Getting back to costs - there is no guarantee such drives will replace CDs, in the coming months and years we should definitely see more labels and artists experimenting though as costs for drives continue to fall. In the end, consumer response will eventually dictate what role USB drives have in the future of music but if those in the music industry can not offer anything worthwhile or interesting….
   
Their gear, merch, van, trailer everything stolen…..I have a special place for fucks that rip off musicians - this is one of the worst examples in some time.
The band, from BC, were in the midst of a cross Canada tour for their new album “We Are Not Alone” when they were robbed in Montreal:
PLEASE RE-POST THIS EVERYWHERE YOU CAN
STOLEN!!
BLACK HALOS - VAN / GEAR / TRAILER
Last night in Montreal our van and trailer was stolen with all our our gear, merch and CD..s. None of these items are insured.
Below is a list of gear that was stolen. PLEASE WATCH FOR ANY OF THESE ITEMS on the internet or at pawn shops.
Please also note we had close to 400 CD..s stolen with our merch. IF YOU SEE THE CD..S (”WE ARE NOT ALONE”) FOR SALE ON ANY WEBSITE OTHER THAN HISTORY MUSIC, PEOPLE LIKE YOU OR ACETATE SITES PLEASE E-MAIL US.
PLEASE RE-POST THIS EVERYWHERE YOU CAN!!!
IF YOU HAVE ANY INFO ABOUT ANY OF THESE ITEMS PLEASE REPLY
ADAM BECVAREs GEAR….
1 Black Custom made Sparrow primitive 335 Electric Hollowbody guitar.
No Serial Number
name ….”Vanessa”…. painted on headstock .
Silver Skull and Wings Art work on front of guitar.
Silver Black Halos Logo artwork on back of guitar.
1 Black Custom Sparrow primitive 335 Electric Hollowbody guitar.
No Serial Number
Blue with Purple Detailed graphic artwork.
1 modified Peavey 100 watt Classic Guitar Amplifier Head.
Tweed in Colour with Leapard Print Fabric on Front.
Various stickers and Tape.
1 Black Scuba zip off BackPack.
Contains the following guitar items.
1 Blue MXR 10 band EQ guitar effect box.See Band Manifest for Serial Numbers
hardwired powercord attached had pink tape on it
1 modified Blue MXR 10 band EQ guitar effect box. Serial number not available.
no powercord attached. switch installed. had pink tape on it.
1 white Boss TU-2 guitar tuner. See Band Manifest for serial number.
3 black 18 ft guitar cords
1 black 2 ft gtr cord
1 tweed 18 ft guitar cord
2 blue 6 inch guitar cords
1 black 3 ft speaker cord
approximately 7-10 packs Ernie Ball Guitar Strings
1 pack of 50 sparrow guitar pics
1 Black 4×12 Trayner Guitar Speaker Cabinet
Rob..s
Ludwig 4 piece drum set Red Glitter Metal Flake
24 inch Bass drum w/ Black Halos front head logo
14 inch Rack Tom
18 inch Floor Tom
14 x 6.5 inch Dunnett custom metal snare drum (personally autgoraphed by Dunnett on inside of shell)
DW 5000 double chain drum pedal
3 Pearl strait cymbal stands
1 Pearl high hat stand
24 inch Paiste 2002 Ride Cymbal
14 inch Zildjen Z series high hats
18 inch Zildjen A series Rock Crash
19 inch Zildjen A series Rock Crash
16 inch Zildjen A series Rock Crash
Yamaha snare stand
Pearl rack tom mount stand
All drums are in hard shell black cases all with yellow Black Halos logo on them
Johnny..s
two guitars in red/silver aluminum road case. guitar one: 1960 Gibson
les paul( sunburst finish). it has been re- finished on the backside
of the neck by the head-stock. it’s dis-colored there.
guitar two: white, Sparrow rat-rod ( looks like a les paul). has a
black pic guard and has the black halos logo lettering on the
body.skull and wings on the back of body.
one,Bogner guitar head. 100 watt model ( the Ecstasy) black , with no handle.
one, Fender 4/10 deville guitar amp. black/silver
one orange tool box full of guitar cords/ guitar strings/ three
guitar effect’s pedals.
pedals from orange box: 1.) vox wah-wah ( silver/blk)
2.) boss, super distortion (yellow)
3.) custom red/black distortion
pedal. (turbo tube screamer)
one suitcase with guitar effects pedal board. pedal 1.) bogner foot controller
2.) boss tuner (white/black
3.) morley a/b amp switch
4.) boss super phaser (green)
5.) digitech wah pedal ( red/black)
two guitar stands, one holds 3 guitar/ the other holds 5.
JR..s
Fender Precision Bass. Sunburst finish with black pickguard.
SKB Fender hardshell case.
Rickenbacker 4003 Bass. Jet Glo (Black) finish with black Pickguardian
custom pickup cover.
Rickenbacker hardshell case.
Gallien-Krueger 800RB bass head.
Traynor TC810 bass cabinet
Proco Turbo Rat distortion pedal
Boss TU-2 Cromatic Tuner
Black bag with pedals also had items below.
2 Yorkville 20″ patch cords (angled end)
1 Yorkville 10″ patch cord
2 packs medium L&M bass strings.
CONTACT DANNY CAMEO
dannycameo@shaw.ca
(604) 781-2075
Not sure if this has made it’s way on A Quiet Revolution but these are some big numbers from a big band…all without a record label.
While precious little has been revealed about Radiohead’s success with the donation-suggested model, Nine Inch Nails’ recent experiment has proven quite successful. Despite no marketing and no label, the donation-suggested 36-track album netted the artist a stunning $1,619,420 US.
The album can be purchased, completely DRM-free in both MP3 and lossless formats as well as CD and a $300.00 deluxe vinyl option. You can also download some of the album for free. The details can be found here.
The University of King’s College will present a public lecture by KRS-ONE (www.krs-one.com) on Saturday, March 15 at 4:00 pm in Alumni Hall (New Academic Building, 6350 Coburg Road). He will speak on hip hop, social justice and the role of music in social movements. All are welcome to attend and admission is free.
Those resourceful musicians in Cape Breton have launched their very own Coop that offers funding for CB musicians, education and career guidance. We all think this is great because the two funding programs that NS has already are over subscribed. More info on partnerships with other associations coming soon.
Cape Breton Music Industry Cooperative launches, offers funding to Island musicians.
(Sydney, NS) In an effort to make music a viable career option for our island’s artists, a group of music industry professionals have come together to support the work of Cape Breton’s musicians by forming the Cape Breton Music Industry Cooperative (CBMIC). The Cooperative’s goal is to help create a vibrant, fully integrated music industry in Cape Breton. To that end CBMIC has introduced one of many initiatives aimed at supporting local musicians – the Cape Breton Music Export Marketing Program. The objective of this program is to provide export-ready musicians and music groups the necessary funding to expand market opportunities outside of Canada, to increase earned revenue potential and to increase the sale of local music products to international markets. To kick-start this initiative, CBMIC, in association with Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation, has offered funding to Cape Breton musicians who participated in official showcases at the East Coast Music Awards in Fredericton, New Brunswick in February and Canadian Music Week in Toronto in March.
Cape Breton Island is world renowned for its music and musicians. Getting together to play instruments and make music is a long-standing tradition in communities all over the island and the business of music can be a large contributor to the island’s economic revitalization. This contribution will require not only world-class music but a world-class music industry infrastructure as well. The current Cape Breton music industry has been developing on the island out of necessity and specialization, but there is still basic infrastructure that needs to be developed to bring local artists to the world stage. Membership in CBMIC is open to Cape Breton residents involved in the music industry for a $10 annual membership fee that provides access to the Cooperative’s funding programs, through an application process. Details of the programs and process are available at www.cbmic.ca.
For more information visit www.cbmic.ca
Media Contact:
Doug Lionais
doug_lionais@cbmic.caThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
902 539 6699
With March 15 falling on a Saturday, the deadline for the Export Development Program (EDP) funding is 5:00pm Monday, March 17.
NOTE from Rob: Same goes for the Emerging Music Program - also with a March 15th deadline.
Applications must arrive at the MUSIC NOVA SCOTIA office on or before the deadline date to be eligible. The original application plus 4 copies are required. Electronic submissions will be accepted. PDF’s are preferred. Please email to funding@musicnovascotia.ca and clearly identify the order in which the pages should appear when printed. A signed and dated “Terms and Conditions” form must be mailed or faxed to MUSIC NOVA SCOTIA to accompany electronic submissions. Only the current application forms will be accepted. If you are unsure whether you are working with the current forms, please consult the Program Officer or download at http://www.musicnovascotia.ca/funding/.
My tips contribution:
1) As Jonny noted, there are way more applications submitted than can be funded. Thus the best rule I can give anyone on grant writing:
DO NOT GIVE THE JURY A REASON TO ELIMINATE YOUR PROPOSAL
By that I mean, if the grant app asks for a 3 year budget [this point is just an example] make sure you provide a three year budget.
Do not think your application is so good that you can ignore what is asked for, or change the way it it asked to be presented [do they tell you to submit 5 copies? well submit 5 copies].
Every jury I have been part of has had applications that are missing required components. But it does make it easy for a jury to decide if that app will be funded or not [and it won’t be].
2) Answer the basics: Who, What, When, Where, Why, How
When I read [or I am writing a grant], I want to make sure that anyone who reads the grant app will have any and all questions they may have answered. KEEP IN MIND: The jury can’t ask you about the application so they need all the info to be in your app to address your submission.
In your budget make it clear what the money is being used for, when explaining who is part of the project include bios so I know the publicist you are hiring is suitable for your project. You really can’t have too many details.
Have someone read over it, if they have any questions about the hows and whys etc of the app, address them.
3) Once you have made sure you have all the required aspects covered and then you have reviewed your proposal ensuring any questions a jury may have have been answered, take some time and present the proposal in a nice clean layout.
Make use of bold, underlining, use two or three fonts for main text and headings, make good use of white space.
Not only does it add a level of professionalism [odds are you will apply more than once so just make a nice template] but when the jury is debating your application it makes it easier on them to find the info they need.
Those points will not guarantee you receive any funding, but I will guarantee that your proposal will definitely be evaluated on the merits of the project itself and not rejected for something that could have been avoided.
Some expanded advice from Jonny Stevens - Education Coordinator of Music Nova Scotia, musician, all round good guy and new contributor to this blog:
#1.WHAT TO DO:
#1. READ THE GUIDELINES THOROUGHLY!
≈ Who is eligible?
≈ What expenses are eligible?
≈ Can expenses be incurred before the funding deadline?
≈ What supplemental information besides the applications provided by the funding body do you need to include in the submission?
If any one of these details is overlooked, it can mean your application is turned down or deemed ineligible and will not be processed. I call people when there are missing pieces because I’m too nice. Most funding programs (like FACTOR for example) will just remove it from the submissions.
#2. When creating your budget, price check all costs that rather than estimate. ie. flights, car rentals, professional services like photography, publicity, or tour management.
#3. Identify the people you intend to utilize for the professional services. Don’t put TBA where a name should appear, and then a budgeted amount for that service. This may not be common to all funding programs, but it’s certainly a pet peeve to the jurors in the EDP program and the Emerging Music Program.
#4. Every line item that appears in your budget should be justified in the marketing plan.
#5. When putting together your marketing plan, think ‘COVER LETTER’ or ‘LETTER OF INTENT’, then ‘WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY, HOW’, plus ‘FOLLOW-UP’ or ‘AFTER-CARE’ plan.
WHO ≈ start by describing the artist/group/or business if you’re an industry professional. The jury doesn’t need to know every minute detail, but they need a Readers Digest summary.
WHAT and WHERE and WHEN ≈ will be addressed briefly in the cover letter but will obviously need elaboration in the marketing plan.
WHY ≈ is very important. For a tour, you will need to explain why you’re focusing on these centres. Is there a reason you’re choosing to focus on this territory? Is there added value to playing some of these cities or towns? Touring for the sake of touring is totally valid and necessary. But when applying for funding, you’re wanting to impress upon the jury that this tour has added value for the artist or band in terms of furthering their progress toward their overall goals. Distinguish your project from the other 50 million submissions the funder will be reviewing.
HOW ≈ is how you plan to execute the plan. This is where you will talk about the team and describe the service providers who appear in your budget. The team might be the band.
FOLLOW-UP ≈ is uber important and often glossed over or completely absent. Drives juries nuts. Don’t assume the panel will assume you will follow-up your activity. Tell them. Follow up implies following up with business contacts, not the funding body.
#6. Use headings, bold, and underline in your marketing plan!
#7. Write in the third person.
WHAT NOT TO DO:
#1. DO NOT PAD YOUR BUDGET!
≈ The panel will know.
≈ If you’re actually awarded your entire ask, you may need to match the spending.
#2. Once you think you’re finished - the letter of intent, the marketing plan, the budget, and any other required components, give the entire package to several people to read and give you feedback. You stare at something long enough you don’t even see the weaknesses.
If the people who read give it back to you with no questions, need for clarification, concerns about budget, it might be ready to submit.
#3. Once you think you’re finished, ask yourself “Have I provided enough information that if someone presented this plan to me and asked me to personally invest in the project, would I?” Ask the others who read it the same question.
DOES THIS PLAN MAKE SENSE? WHAT IS THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT?
REMEMBER: All funding programs are oversubscribed. There is alwaysway more demand on the money than there is money to give out. You may not be successful your first time out, or maybe you will.
And some closing advice from Waye Mason of the NSCC Music Business Program, also Director of the Halifax Pop Explosion:
The most important thing is that you can be good and not get money. You have to be great, and your app has to be great, as Jonny said, they are oversubscribed, 1 in 5 get money.
Sometimes it doesn’t mean the jury wouldn’t give you money, it means they didn’t have money to give.
As for me, last time I did Emerging Jury it was me and Stuart from the Barra McNeils. Now, you are thinking, I am sure, what was that like? What was the Halifax Pop Explosion guy and the celtic family guy from Cape Breton like together?
The answer is: we agreed on every damn thing. Every one. The criteria are clear, so it doesn’t matter if the music is hip hop or celtic or rock, or metal, or whatever, what matters is the realistic and well written application meeting all the criteria, and scoring better than everyone else.
Head over to Herohill for a complete run down on events happening this evening:
KRS-One Headlines Busy Friday In Halifax
I thought of this story today as I read something about Richard online and figured a story isn’t a story until it’s told.
I am a fan of Richard Buckners music but I hadn’t heard of him before I ran into him one night at the Economy Shoe Shop which is a bar I used to work at.
You see he was in town a few years ago playing a few mid winter shows and he would come into the Shoe Shop and hang out by himself. He would sit and order a beer and write in this miniature song book he carried around with him. It always looked funny to me because he is a really tall guy writing in this teeny tiny book.
It was a particularly slow night in the bar, due to the winter weather and the only people that come out when it’s slow and snowy our are either traveling or bonkers. There was this cabbie who we all knew to be a little bit nuts so much so that we’d all groan whenever we saw him walk through the doors and keep our fingers crossed that he wouldn’t sit at the bar and talk to us.
Anyhow, the cabbie talking loudly about how to win in a fight and how he had the best moves and he started scanning the room for someone to show his moves too. Well there was only crazy cabbie and Richard Buckner in the room so the choice was obvious.
Cabbie to Buckner: “Hey bud, I know this may seem strange but I was wondering if I could show off my fight moves on you? Don’t worry though, I’m not going to hurt you bud, I got no reason to want to hurt you but.”
Buckner says: “Yeah sure, why not”.
So Richard stands up and he’s towering over this guy looking down at him and the crazy cabbie starts showing off some of his “moves”. There was an arm hold and a choke hold and a hair pull and a take out the knee move and then there was THE MOVE.
Cabbie says: “What is the one part of the human body where if you bite your opponent cannot bite you back?”
Before anyone can answer he grabbes Richard Buckner by the back of the head and puts his whole nose into his mouth and bites down ever so gently with his front teeth. As if this wasn’t enough, while his mouth was still full of Richard Buckners nose he started to talk to all of us, his beedy little eyes darting back and forth.
Imagine the sound of a drunk cabbie with his mouth full
Cabbie: “See, he can’t do anything about it, I’ve got him paralyzed and there ain’t nothing he can do about it.”
Richard Buckner is as calm as a monk in meditation nods his head in agreement.
I had to ring the bell and boot the cabbie out after that. I had strict rules on slow snowy nights about what was going to far and biting the nose of a customer was definitely too far.
I went out the next day and picked up Richard Buckners disc and have been a fan ever since.
Listen to Richard Buckner for yourself
There is an ancient Nova Scotian proverb about two lobster fishermen meeting in the middle of the Gulf of Maine. As is customary the two boats (one NS and one US) meet up and exchange stories and baked goods. As the two fishing boats were tied together the Maine lobsterman noticed that the NS lobsterman didn’t cover up his lobster cages and asked the question “aren’t you worried about your fresh catch escaping back into the ocean?”
The NS lobsterman looked bewildered and said “Of course I’m not. You see these are Nova Scotian lobsters, as soon as one starts to climb to the top of the cage the rest will pull it back down.”
I find myself a dreamer in a difficult environment where innovative thought is often met with bewildered looks and questions about why you would defy the status quoe. I’m not sure if it is due to years of economic hardship endured by our province or if it’s the isolation from the rest of the country that breeds this idea of “Cannot”. Imagine for a moment if everyone, including myself, were totally open to brand new ideas and trying new things. What kind of place would we live in? Would we spiral into chaos or would be thrive both culturally and economically?
Nova Scotia’s isolation isn’t necessarily a downfall and has also given us some advantage. Firstly we have a great musical landscape here where talent is naturally developed and not created like in other major centers. Bands have also never relied on recorded product sale to make their way which has put us ahead of the rest of the country. NS musicians have always realized that playing live is the only way to break through and get anywhere be they Hardcore, Rock or Celtic roots.” The same can be said about new music industry professionals as they look for new ways to get the music we make out to the masses. Innovation, technology and the notion that you can not get caught up with the “cannots” will ultimately put us all ahead of the curve.
I have had the chance to travel and see much of the world. I’ve seen the kill or be killed business of NYC and had power lunch meetings in LA and I don’t think there is a place for either one of those models in Nova Scotia but I do believe there is room for more.
We speak of the brain drain to the USA, the loss of jobs and the labor shortage due to the western oil sands but do we ever ask ourselves why we leave? I think the answer goes deeper than just better jobs and more money, I think the reason is that hard working Nova Scotia’s know they will fight to get out of the “lobster cage” if they stay and that there may be another place that is more receptive to new ideas.
I don’t believe in the word “cannot” nor do I believe I would be better off in another city but I do believe we can do better; we can support more innovative thinkers and swing the pendulum in another trajectory.
So how about we all put on our thinking caps and try something new, exciting and innovative on for size and see how it fits. I bet you’ll be surprised with the results of this experiment be they good or bad.
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