I am really enjoying my life right now. Lately it has been through watching Jesse grow from this little boy…
Last night I performed my first solo concert online! It was a quick test-run of a concert weighing in at 15 minutes and few extra for an encore. I had an amazing time and hope you did too. After the concert this exchange between Mike and Sulley, from Monsters, Inc., came to mind:
Much like Mike Wazowski, I felt that even when the plans didn’t go exactly as I was imagining they would (a bit of sound distortion, some people with moments of frozen screens, and some who never made it into the concert) it was a blast for me to play for you all!
I do apologize for those who had some technical difficulties and by the next concert we will have things running smoother. Also, if you were curious, here’s what it looked like from my side last night.
Before you go, I wanted you to know that the next concert will be on October 20th at 7:30 PM (CST) and is called “live from the white house”. You can reserve your tickets here:
http://www.stageit.com/daniel_john/live_from_the_white_house/4471
This concert has a couple of potential, crazy-fun surprises that I am working on making happen for you. I can’t reveal them just yet, but know that you are not going to want to miss this concert in October. You can purchase tickets starting today, plus you can be a HUGE help to me by letting people know about this upcoming event!!
Lastly, I do take song requests and I do respond to bribes, so please make those and make them good! You can let me hear your thoughts in the comments below or by hitting me up on FACEBOOK or TWITTER. What songs do you want to hear?
I’ve been practicing – are you coming?
Here’s a link on how to purchase a $1 ticket to the show.
And here’s a link to my show.
See you Thursday Night @ 7:00PM (CST)!
Here’s the rundown:
* i’m in Omaha this weekend visiting family & attending the Global Leadership Summit with my dad. If you would like to “see” a few of the sessions, you should check Tim Schraeder’s blog or follow him on twitter. Tims’s a communication guru and you’ll be able to read through his notes of each speaker from both days.
* if you have an iPhone you might want to consider the bookbook case. Everything has trailers now, so here’s a link to see it action.
* i’m playing a concert online next week (Thursday) & I would be THRILLED if you would come. Check it out here & email me with any questions on how to “get in” to the concert. Also, be sure to come back Monday for a few more details concerning the concert. It’s going to be a lot of fun, so don’t miss it!
* great advice to musicians from one of my heroes, Charlie Peacock.
* i still love tilt-shift…
* are you a creative? what defines “creativity”? A look at the various types of creatives in this post. Very encouraging if you ever compare yourself to others…let’s be honest, we all do this, right?!
* …& here’s a little more tilt-shift-loving proof!
* if you would like to see the actual size Chicago, you should consider joining us for the STORY Conference in September. Click the picture below to see a few more details or EMAIL ME. I’d love to answer any questions you might have about this amazing conference.
Have a great weekend!
Here’s a quick story:
Recently a woman heard a podcast about a professional musician who had started mentoring other artists. This artist-mentor started by meeting with friends locally and then began leveraging the latest internet technology to help him meet and befriend artists across the nation. He was passionate about the artists he was working with. He was also very engaging as he spoke, so that evening the woman told her husband about the podcast she had heard.
He listened to it and after hearing it reached out to this artist-mentor via email. Within an hour the mentor had responded back and had scheduled a time for the two of them to start meeting regularly. Within the week they had their first chat & during the end of their first online video chat, the arist-mentor said, “I always want to be available to you, so here’s my cell # & my email address. If you ever need to talk, or just want bounce an idea off of me – I’m here.”
All of this took place back in April of this year and is the (very) condensed story of how I met my new friend Ramy Antoun. He and I have only recently met, but already he has been there for me consistently as a mentor, a friend, and someone who will just listen.
I know I’m lucky to have people like Ramy, my wife, my parents, and great friends that will listen and be honest with me. So, while I was thinking about all of that, this idea hit me…
I bet there are people out there like me who have wanted someone to hear their story, or listen to their idea, or be able to chat with someone who cares about what they have to say.
So this Friday, August 5th, I am doing something new. I am holding open office hours from 9:30am – 12pm and YOU are invited. All you need to do is email me <--[click the link] and we'll set up a time slot for us to talk online or by phone. You pick the topic, I'll give you any advice or thoughts I might have, but mostly I'll just be there to listen. I hope you'll sign up because I simply want to be available to you.
quick rundown:
* The BKFST site. Beautiful site that may leave you feeling hungry.
* You may already know, but if you haven’t heard yet…I’m having my own solo online concert on August 18th (@ 7:00 PM Central) and I would LOVE IT if you would come! Just go to My Concert page at StageIt.com to buy a $1 ticket (tips are also welcome but not required). You may want to check this post out for all the details.
* This app/book “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” looks amazing – has anyone tried this yet? Check out the trailer for it below.
* The Evernote Tumblr. One of the easiest ways to learn Evernote (& yes I’m a fanboy of Evernote – it is an amazing little app).
* Watching Derek Paravicini – musical genius:
* Lion OS (which I love) & Wunderlist. After installing Lion I realized my To-Do program was not working as smoothly. Switched to this free, multiplatform [iPhone, iPad (basically iEverything), Android, Windows, Mac OSX] to-do list. It syncs easily across most devices and is worth checking out.
* John Mayer’s simple, yet great advice. This is for musicians, or anyone in the business of creating. Quick read guaranteed to challenge.
* “The Accidental Creative: How To Be Brilliant At A Moment’s Notice” – this book is not just for creative-types, but also for those who want to “unlock [their] latent creative abilities”. Excellent read so far.
What have you seen this week that we might have missed? Let us know!
Today is a very exciting day for me (& I’m hoping for you too)! I wanted to invite you all to come join me at my first solo concert live on Thursday, August 18th at 7:00pm. The concert is called “Live From My House” because…that is where the concert will be held! Now, I understand that a lot of you might not be able to make it to Missouri the day of the concert, so I thought I would see if maybe I could come to you? Here’s the story of how this works…
Two nights ago I happened across this site called StageIt.com and quickly realized they were doing an amazing thing. They are giving musicians the ability to begin hosting online concerts through their site. After a bit of researching I found the area where I could sign up to become one of their approved artists. I sent in my application and they sent me a response later in the day that I was all set. I immediately logged on and scheduled a concert which I would ABSOLUTELY LOVE for you all to come and watch!
This first concert will be rather short (15-20 mins) as we give this a trial run together. And, because it will be a shorter first show, the price of a ticket is only $1. I can almost guarantee you can cover the cost by searching through your couch cushions right now. You are welcome to pay more than that price or to leave a tip, but the money is not my goal. What I am most excited about is the opportunity to try a brand new concert “venue” out and for you all to come and join me!
I will be playing songs that we wrote during our [5in5] challenge, but I will also be taking requests for the next 2 weeks. So leave me a comment here telling me a song you would like to hear, OR send me a tweet OR a facebook post. Then, I’ll reveal at the concert whose song I chose and play it for you live.
One last thing – of course I want you all to come to my first show, but I understand that it might not work for your schedule. Or you might be saving that dollar for a Grande Peppermint Mocha. Now I don’t ever want to come between anyone and their coffee. I am serious when I say if you can’t make it, no worries – there will be other shows! What would be great instead is if you could help me by invite people you know to the show or simply by posting this link – http://ow.ly/5OibY – and encouraging people to come to my show.
So don’t forget – get your tickets, send me a song request, & help me get the word out. I will see you on August 18th in my living room!! Thanks!!