Dear diary...
What do you do when your industry is dying, and there's no other industry in your area that isn't? I'm on such a rollercoaster. 4 days ago, I'm in Washington DC talking to senators. Today, I'm wrapping up a weekend where we lost a whole lot of money. "But dude, Fusion's blowing up!". Wrong. We're just doing all the things we once hated.
I don't know what to do. Hopefully "THINK LOCAL" will jar something loose in my stupid head.
EDIT: This is an example of how blogs are usually only written when someone's crabby. The industry is definitely in trouble, but Fusion, for the most part, has made the right decisions. We're just having a tough month, and I'm struggling to figure out what's next. I want to re-focus on the strong local talent in Michigan, build them a scene to be proud of, and then sprinkle some good, solid national talent here and there.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Vacation: Day 1 - Howell, MI to Olean, NY
Getting an early start by our standards (noon-ish), Teresa and I set off on our week-long vacation to the east. We're on what I like to call the "no plan plan", where we just kind of have a general route in mind, but don't have anything figured out. Teresa took first shift while I used the laptop and internet card to drum up some options. We were either going to stay in a small Lake Erie town east of Cleveland called Painesville, OH, or we were going to push on to Olean, NY, a small town in the foothills of western New York. I guess you could call these mountains. Not huge, by any means, but definitely bigger than anything we have in Michigan.
We decided to keep rolling towards Olean. Cleveland was cool. We kind of jumped off the freeway on the west side and rolled through what was obviously the nicer part of town. We rounded a bend, and bang, there was downtown. And then it was over, and we got stuck in traffic in the ugly part of town on the east side. I tried to stick to the coast of Lake Erie for some scenery, but there wasn't much to be had, so I jumped back on the I-90 and made some good time through the 50 miles or so of Pennsylvania while Teresa took a nap.
Towards the end of the 9 hour drive (with many stops), I was getting sleepy, so Teresa and I played 20 questions for about the last hour of the drive, which kept me going. I kicked her ass at it. Woot.
We got into Olean, a nice enough little town. Not too much happening, but that's kind of what we're shooting for, I think. Today, we move on towards Watkins Glen, where we'll hike the gorge, do some camping, make some S'mores. Hopefully the mosquitoes won't be too bad. It's just nice to be on the road, and enjoying ourselves together.
We decided to keep rolling towards Olean. Cleveland was cool. We kind of jumped off the freeway on the west side and rolled through what was obviously the nicer part of town. We rounded a bend, and bang, there was downtown. And then it was over, and we got stuck in traffic in the ugly part of town on the east side. I tried to stick to the coast of Lake Erie for some scenery, but there wasn't much to be had, so I jumped back on the I-90 and made some good time through the 50 miles or so of Pennsylvania while Teresa took a nap.
Towards the end of the 9 hour drive (with many stops), I was getting sleepy, so Teresa and I played 20 questions for about the last hour of the drive, which kept me going. I kicked her ass at it. Woot.
We got into Olean, a nice enough little town. Not too much happening, but that's kind of what we're shooting for, I think. Today, we move on towards Watkins Glen, where we'll hike the gorge, do some camping, make some S'mores. Hopefully the mosquitoes won't be too bad. It's just nice to be on the road, and enjoying ourselves together.
Friday, June 5, 2009
I'm going to Washington DC! And I'm meeting with senators. Please help me.
Hey everyone,
It's not often that I solicit people's help for non-concert events. It feels weird to be doing this at 30 years of age, but Invisible Children is a charitable organization that has been laid on my heart. The overall idea is this. In Uganda and surrounding countries, a madman named Joseph Kony has spent the last 20-some-odd years running a rebel band of soldiers called the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). The LRA rules the jungle in these countries, descending upon villages in the middle of the night and killing, burning, and pillaging, and most importantly, abducting the children of the village. He then marches them to their strongholds, where he tortures them and forces them to become the world's most violent soldiers.
This problem was brought to light by a group of filmmakers who went to Uganda to film a completely unrelated event. They were then introduced to the atrocities happening every day, and filmed some of the craziest footage you'll ever see. Since, the filmmakers began Invisible Children, whose sole goal is to bring these children home to their families, and to end the terrors by Kony and his LRA.
For more info on Invisible Children, head to www.invisiblechildren.com. To watch the video "The Rescue", head here: http://therescue.invisiblechildren.com/en/#/watch/
Fast forward to today. On April 25th, 2009, Teresa and I joined over 10,000 people in 100 cities across the globe as part of The Rescue, one of the largest organized awareness events in the history of earth. We marched through the rain in solidarity to help raise awareness across the globe. The six-day event concluded with us marching on Oprah Winfrey's studio at 2am in Chicago. She saw the 500 or so of us surrounding her building, and came out and invited the filmmakers onto her show.
Check out our appearance on Oprah here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2jFISVUXxc
And check out a follow-up on CNN: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5Zt1xsokns&feature=related
So why DC? Well, this is kind of the capstone of the whole process. Together with thousands like me, we're going to the Capitol, to officially meet with our senators from each state, to make them aware of our feelings on what's happening in Uganda. I will be meeting with Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin, senators from Michigan, in an officially scheduled session. We will be delivering to them the hundreds of letters that were written at the Rescue by the participants, which they are legally required to read.
We will be encouraging our senators to support "The LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act", originally introduced just a few weeks ago to the Senate by US Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Sam Brownback (R-KS).
The entire bill can be viewed here: http://www.invisiblechildren.com/includes/phpbin/download_resource.php?id=72
I am driving to Washington DC on Sunday, June 21, staying in a church with hundreds of others on June 22 and 23, and making the trek home on Wednesday, June 24. To help pay for the massive costs of the event, Invisible Children has set up a way for friends and family to make donations. It is costing me $60.00 to attend the event, and I donated $30.00 extra to the cause. I set a goal of $200.00 to be raised, and I'm asking you to donate even $5.00 to help me do something that has been laid upon my heart.
To donate, head to my personal IC page at: http://invisiblechildren.kintera.org/howitends/natedorough
I'm not worried about my costs being covered. I'll worry about my gas money, and I'm staying with friends in Harrisburg, PA and then staying in a donated living space in Washington DC with the rest of the crew. The important part is that the operation itself is funded.
Want to help? Here's how.
1. Watch the movies. You will be inspired, I promise.
2. Head to my page (URL above) and donate. $5 even.
3. Write a letter to Stabenow or Levin. I will personally deliver it, along with the hundreds gathered at The Rescue.
Finally, to help raise awareness locally for this cause, I will be hosting a dual screening of the two I.C. films that I own. The first is the original Invisible Children film, and the second is The Rescue. For now, unless numbers dictate otherwise, I will plan on hosting this in my home on Tuesday, June 16 at 7pm. If numbers dictate, I'll work with my friends at the Hartland PAC to potentially move the screening across the street to the PAC.
LOCAL INVISIBLE CHILDREN FILM SCREENING
Tuesday, June 16, 7pm
My apartment. Please RSVP by emailing me at natedorough@gmail.com ONLY if you're really coming. Facebook users, you can RSVP here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=86557792841 If enough people RSVP, we'll show the movie on the big screen across the street. We'll write letters to our senators, which I will personally deliver to them on June 22 and 23.
I'm terribly sorry this is so long. Please, react how you feel necessary. You can donate, or you can delete. I understand either way, we all have our places that we put our discretionary money. This is where I put mine. Thanks for reading.
Love,
Nate Dorough
It's not often that I solicit people's help for non-concert events. It feels weird to be doing this at 30 years of age, but Invisible Children is a charitable organization that has been laid on my heart. The overall idea is this. In Uganda and surrounding countries, a madman named Joseph Kony has spent the last 20-some-odd years running a rebel band of soldiers called the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). The LRA rules the jungle in these countries, descending upon villages in the middle of the night and killing, burning, and pillaging, and most importantly, abducting the children of the village. He then marches them to their strongholds, where he tortures them and forces them to become the world's most violent soldiers.
This problem was brought to light by a group of filmmakers who went to Uganda to film a completely unrelated event. They were then introduced to the atrocities happening every day, and filmed some of the craziest footage you'll ever see. Since, the filmmakers began Invisible Children, whose sole goal is to bring these children home to their families, and to end the terrors by Kony and his LRA.
For more info on Invisible Children, head to www.invisiblechildren.com. To watch the video "The Rescue", head here: http://therescue.invisiblechildren.com/en/#/watch/
Fast forward to today. On April 25th, 2009, Teresa and I joined over 10,000 people in 100 cities across the globe as part of The Rescue, one of the largest organized awareness events in the history of earth. We marched through the rain in solidarity to help raise awareness across the globe. The six-day event concluded with us marching on Oprah Winfrey's studio at 2am in Chicago. She saw the 500 or so of us surrounding her building, and came out and invited the filmmakers onto her show.
Check out our appearance on Oprah here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2jFISVUXxc
And check out a follow-up on CNN: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5Zt1xsokns&feature=related
So why DC? Well, this is kind of the capstone of the whole process. Together with thousands like me, we're going to the Capitol, to officially meet with our senators from each state, to make them aware of our feelings on what's happening in Uganda. I will be meeting with Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin, senators from Michigan, in an officially scheduled session. We will be delivering to them the hundreds of letters that were written at the Rescue by the participants, which they are legally required to read.
We will be encouraging our senators to support "The LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act", originally introduced just a few weeks ago to the Senate by US Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Sam Brownback (R-KS).
The entire bill can be viewed here: http://www.invisiblechildren.com/includes/phpbin/download_resource.php?id=72
I am driving to Washington DC on Sunday, June 21, staying in a church with hundreds of others on June 22 and 23, and making the trek home on Wednesday, June 24. To help pay for the massive costs of the event, Invisible Children has set up a way for friends and family to make donations. It is costing me $60.00 to attend the event, and I donated $30.00 extra to the cause. I set a goal of $200.00 to be raised, and I'm asking you to donate even $5.00 to help me do something that has been laid upon my heart.
To donate, head to my personal IC page at: http://invisiblechildren.kintera.org/howitends/natedorough
I'm not worried about my costs being covered. I'll worry about my gas money, and I'm staying with friends in Harrisburg, PA and then staying in a donated living space in Washington DC with the rest of the crew. The important part is that the operation itself is funded.
Want to help? Here's how.
1. Watch the movies. You will be inspired, I promise.
2. Head to my page (URL above) and donate. $5 even.
3. Write a letter to Stabenow or Levin. I will personally deliver it, along with the hundreds gathered at The Rescue.
Finally, to help raise awareness locally for this cause, I will be hosting a dual screening of the two I.C. films that I own. The first is the original Invisible Children film, and the second is The Rescue. For now, unless numbers dictate otherwise, I will plan on hosting this in my home on Tuesday, June 16 at 7pm. If numbers dictate, I'll work with my friends at the Hartland PAC to potentially move the screening across the street to the PAC.
LOCAL INVISIBLE CHILDREN FILM SCREENING
Tuesday, June 16, 7pm
My apartment. Please RSVP by emailing me at natedorough@gmail.com ONLY if you're really coming. Facebook users, you can RSVP here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=86557792841 If enough people RSVP, we'll show the movie on the big screen across the street. We'll write letters to our senators, which I will personally deliver to them on June 22 and 23.
I'm terribly sorry this is so long. Please, react how you feel necessary. You can donate, or you can delete. I understand either way, we all have our places that we put our discretionary money. This is where I put mine. Thanks for reading.
Love,
Nate Dorough
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Today was blogtastic
I don't usually blog unless I'm pissed. But since I'm over it, I'm not sure how to approach this blog. I just feel like writing my ramblings until they lead me to bed. My eyes are starting to flutter, so it might not take very long.
Anyway, here's the deal. Tonight, I hated myself for booking this show full of angry gorillas whose sole goal it was to beat each other to a bloody mess. I hate hardcore music, at least what it's been morphed into. Hardcore dancing is stupid, and I'm sick of it. YOU KIDS LOOK STUPID. It's not cool. You are ruining your youthful lives, and I'm sick and tired of keeping my mouth shut about it. I'm not booking this crap anymore. I'll help some of the local bands continue to have shows, but I don't want to do this anymore. I'd rather book juggalo rap than this crap. At least there's some entertainment value in that. You guys are just stupid losers that need to find some other way to spend their time. And you Lakes Area Hardcore douchebags, you are going to die early in life, alone and pathetic. You are useless pieces of crap, and I don't advocate nor do I support your violence. I hope you get hit by cars.
Phew, now that that is off my chest, we're good. Kevin Devine this weekend was amazing, as usual. I felt like I kissed his ass a bit much, but he's a pretty inspiring dude, and it was important to me that he knew that.
This summer, I'm bringing back some of our DIY roots. We're putting out a "Think Local" concert series that's going to unite local (yes, local, as in Livingston County) bands and locally owned small businesses into one joined force to bring a positive change to our county. We're going to help some top-notch upcoming talented bands gain some footing, so look for some very diverse options in your area very soon. In the meantime, I suggest you check out Paper Mache, Farewell Flight, Lorien, and some of the other smaller bands we've booked lately. You might actually enjoy them (no you can't swing your arms to them, but you'll be OK, I promise).
My brain is swirling right now as to how to best revitalize Livingston County's music scene, and I've got some great ideas coming to a Fusion Shows website near you. Please stay tuned.
Anyway, here's the deal. Tonight, I hated myself for booking this show full of angry gorillas whose sole goal it was to beat each other to a bloody mess. I hate hardcore music, at least what it's been morphed into. Hardcore dancing is stupid, and I'm sick of it. YOU KIDS LOOK STUPID. It's not cool. You are ruining your youthful lives, and I'm sick and tired of keeping my mouth shut about it. I'm not booking this crap anymore. I'll help some of the local bands continue to have shows, but I don't want to do this anymore. I'd rather book juggalo rap than this crap. At least there's some entertainment value in that. You guys are just stupid losers that need to find some other way to spend their time. And you Lakes Area Hardcore douchebags, you are going to die early in life, alone and pathetic. You are useless pieces of crap, and I don't advocate nor do I support your violence. I hope you get hit by cars.
Phew, now that that is off my chest, we're good. Kevin Devine this weekend was amazing, as usual. I felt like I kissed his ass a bit much, but he's a pretty inspiring dude, and it was important to me that he knew that.
This summer, I'm bringing back some of our DIY roots. We're putting out a "Think Local" concert series that's going to unite local (yes, local, as in Livingston County) bands and locally owned small businesses into one joined force to bring a positive change to our county. We're going to help some top-notch upcoming talented bands gain some footing, so look for some very diverse options in your area very soon. In the meantime, I suggest you check out Paper Mache, Farewell Flight, Lorien, and some of the other smaller bands we've booked lately. You might actually enjoy them (no you can't swing your arms to them, but you'll be OK, I promise).
My brain is swirling right now as to how to best revitalize Livingston County's music scene, and I've got some great ideas coming to a Fusion Shows website near you. Please stay tuned.
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