I'm a digital-interactive marketing consultant, live music fan, software developer, concert promoter, project manager, video producer/editor, sound engineer, web designer/developer, high school and college youth worker, mentor, brother, writer, and suicide prevention advocate. If any of that interests you, hit me up.
I love people who have a passion and gift for pursuing creative careers and I love connecting them to their fans. Since 2003, I've worked with creatives and their associated firms (musicians, speakers, writers, artists, photographers, videographers, record labels, venues, and concert promoters) connecting them to and growing their fanbases using new digital and interactive marketing strategies. And I'm not talking about the sleezy stuff that just annoys people. I'm talking about knowing exactly what works and what doesn't. The right technology should not even be noticed by anyone. It should just make sense and seemlessly give people what they want and expect.
Prior to 2003, I worked for the man. I did large-scale Fortune 50 consulting gigs for one of the world's largest software companies for over 12 years. I gave all of that up because it wasn't fulfilling and living in airports was a drag - although it taught me more than any college ever could. Instead of helping large corporations make more money, I wanted to help creative passionate people pursue their dreams. I've loved every minute of it and never look back. I've also learned that if we do it for any other reason than to glorify God and all He has given us, it is a total waste of time.
New techniques, technologies, widgets, and websites evolve every week and I'm obsessed with staying on top of them. My preference is to create an overall strategy together, then plug in the right pieces at the right times and manage the process. It's a strategy I call Connecting The Dots and Create Them When Necessary - combined with an intense focus on Getting Things Done.
I'm not talking about just setting up a Myspace page or a Twitter account. I'm talking about developing real strategies based on reaching real people with measurable results. I'm talking about doing the research to figure out who your real fans are and how reach to them in ways they want to be reached. Nothing is off limits. I'm even willing to pursue sponsorships or endorsements for you for additional exposure and funding.
From a technology perspective, most of what I do is with PHP and Javascript and involves integrating something with a website or iPhone. I major in Facebook Connect integration and iPhone app development - while minoring in Flash ActionScript 3.0 development. However, if it is digital and interactive, chances are that I work with it too - from integration of existing widgets or content - to actual content/media creation/production.
Wether is is a full blown system or application or something very specific to achieve a specific goal, I can either build it or have it built. I'm talking about podcasts, videos, DVDs, custom-built Flash widgets, integrated APIs with YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, etc., blogs, Twitter feeds, custom-built back-end or front-end scripts like PHP and AJAX for handling custom database/tracking/surfacing, integrated artist/event metadata, intuitive/user-friendly websites, mobile phone browsers, iPhone/Android apps, Photoshop/Illustrator custom graphics for flyers, banners, and posters, and any other digital, online, or interactive option out there.
Here is a list of most of the technology I use and would love to use for you:
Pickslide is the name of my company. If you know much about music or rock, you've heard when a guitar player scrapes his pick down the neck of his guitar. I'd say it's a raw and gritty version of what a piano player does when they swipe their hands across a three foot section of keys.
The company officially started in August 2003 as Pickslide Entertainment Group, LLC. It was intended to be my artist management company. Over the years, it took on several different names - such as Pickslide Records for the label I started, or Pickslide Media for the video productions I began to do. As I began to switch from artist management to artist marketing - and as I expanded artist to mean musicians, writers, and artists, I came up with the name Aunt Sally's Garage.
Aunt Sally's Garage, LLC was going to be the end-all-be-all umbrella for everything creative. I loved the concept of a garage. That's where projects happen. That's the cool place where you watch and learn as your uncle fixes his lawn mower - or where you first learn to ride a unicycyle with your older sister's boyfriend - or where your grandmother teaches you to paint outdoor furniture - or where your brother restores his vintage Camaro - or where the band practices and records - or where you just plain go for solitude and experiement with new ideas. To me, it was to be a place of creativity where we worked together to market and develop creative careers in music, art, writing, and more. But the name just didn't fly (although it is part of my YouTube account and I can't change it).
I never let go of the name Pickslide. When I was trying to come up with a name back in 2003, I thought of names using my name, like Klein Management. Blah. I thought of things that made me happy - like Black Mountain Entertainment (named after my grandfather's ranch in Colorado that I loved more than anything), but nope. Then it hit me. One of the things I love most about rock music - especially punk - is the pickslide. It cuts you open and makes you bleed - in a good way - a way that connects you and lays everything on the table to be sorted through and delt with. It's better than a massage even. So I finally figured it out. Instead of thinking up the perfect words to go after the name Pickslide that represent what I do, I can just call it Pickslide. In January 2009, I officially filed the paperwork with the state of Texas changing the name to Pickslide, LLC.
Now it's everything. It's still my record label. It's what will be on the invoice when I bill you for my time if you're my client. It will be listed on the About pages of all of the iPhone apps I release. For now, I don't think much about things like building the brand - because I'm the brand. It's just a name. But a good one.
I have 4 blogs now - Him, You, Me, and It. These are the four things I write about and the four things that matter to me. They are color coded - because, well.., I thought that would be cool.
The Him blog is about faith, God, Jesus, and all that type of stuff. My purpose in life (at least for now) is to encourage, mentor, support, guide, shepherd, care for, understand, listen to, and pastor young men ages 15 to 25. The "Him" blog is for them and sometimes about them.
The You blog is about, well..., hopefully you. If you are a creative professional or organization - or some part of the arts - or passionate about the arts, then you might dig this blog. This is where I write about marketing and strategies to connect you with your fans.
The Me blog is probably too self-serving. It's obviously where I write about me. It's where I write about random personal thoughts and stories and observations.
The It blog is about digital and interactive technology. With Him, You, and Me out of the way, all that was left was "It". "It" is the stuff that makes the "You" articles happen (ie, You + Marketing + Digital/Interactive Technology = Fans).
I decided to split everything into four blogs because most people will only want to read about one or two of the topics and not all four. It will hopefully enable you to just to subscribe to what you're interested in - instead of being annoyed with the topics you don't care about.
Please check in now and then to read from any or all of them and subscribe to one or more if you have room in your Google Reader or iGoogle page (or whatever other RSS feed reader you're using). They should all be integrated with Facebook Connect soon too - making it easier to leave comments and share entries with your Facebook friends (that is, if you are a Facebook user - but then again, who isn't these days).
I hear stories of suicide among high school and college students all of the time, from right here in Austin, and from all over the country and it breaks my heart. Suicide and every other self-destructive behavior don't have to happen. There is help available. I believe that there would be fewer problems like these if we all had a stronger sense of our purpose in life and a strong community of support. I also believe that part of the solution is serving others - putting others first (ie, the definition of loving someone).
When we ask someone how they are doing, we have to mean it - and we have to be willing not to judge the answer or immediately try to fix the problem, but to just listen and try to understand. Someone who does this for you is a life-giving friend. And if you don't think you have anyone like this, the best way to find them is to be that type of friend to others first.
I'm constantly on the lookout for ways to do more of this, enable others to do more of this, and even create or help organizations reach more people to do more of this. I've found that it is a long hard struggle and that most people don't like talking about or donating to mental health programs. If you have any ideas or want to join together to help, then please let me know.
I've also learned that getting students involved in good student ministry programs is probably better than any organization we could come up with. Knowing, and I mean really knowing, who Jesus is and having a true relationship with Him solves a lot of problems, creates extreme and thrilling adventure, and lights up a path toward a fulfilling life - although it will likely be the most difficult thing we can ever do - and comes with lots of mistakes.
Eric just tweeted...
charity: water is a 501(c)3 non-profit that provides access to clean water to the countless people who don't have it. Over 42,000 people die each week due to lack of access to clean water. It is a straight-forward problem with a simple solution and we can all easily help.
Click the Donate button above to go to my special fundraising page at charity: water. Any amount will help us reach our goal.
Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of all sickness and disease, and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Many people in the developing world, usually women and children, walk more than three hours every day to fetch water that is likely to make them sick. Those hours are crucial, preventing many from working or attending school. Additionally, collecting water puts them at greater risk of sexual harassment and assault. Children are especially vulnerable to the consequences of unsafe water. Of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and a lack of basic sanitation, 90% are children under 5 years old.
