Over the weekend I received a very nice postcard from one of the most prominent people featured in Post. He congratulated me on the publication of the book, thanked me for sending him a copy, and said he looked forward to reading it. I found his gesture to be very, very kind and I immensely appreciated it. Sometime while processing this I came back to an idea I've discussed before: you never forget the experience of doing something yourself. Whether it's putting out records or books or making your own movie, that experience will probably stay with you for the rest of your life.
I have yet to meet somebody who deeply regrets doing any of the aforementioned activities. Not everybody has the drive and/or desire to see something from beginning to completion to release, so it's still somewhat of a rare thing these days. For me, I find way more common ground talking to a punk band about DIY than say, interviewing a member of KISS and wondering if it's OK to talk about KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park. In other words, there's an entryway to something deeper beyond the facade of fame or popularity.
Now that I'm in a position where people are contacting me about writing a book themselves. Whatever help I can offer, I'm more than happy to share with them. I'm not going to forget the people that inspired me how (and how not) to treat others looking for advice. I'm not one to discourage as I've found those with the passion to do something like this will do it with your help or without your help.
I have yet to meet somebody who deeply regrets doing any of the aforementioned activities. Not everybody has the drive and/or desire to see something from beginning to completion to release, so it's still somewhat of a rare thing these days. For me, I find way more common ground talking to a punk band about DIY than say, interviewing a member of KISS and wondering if it's OK to talk about KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park. In other words, there's an entryway to something deeper beyond the facade of fame or popularity.
Now that I'm in a position where people are contacting me about writing a book themselves. Whatever help I can offer, I'm more than happy to share with them. I'm not going to forget the people that inspired me how (and how not) to treat others looking for advice. I'm not one to discourage as I've found those with the passion to do something like this will do it with your help or without your help.
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