THE GGN JOURNALS - Blood, Tears, Sweat, & Songs..

March 10, 2013… All I could hear when I slept for the last three months were voices from the film. All of the people I met along the way filled my dreams with both positive and negative banter about their own experiences trying to succeed. I couldn’t shake them away; there was a constant battle of conversations in my head as everything was on the line to promote my final fundraiser. This inner torment was raising my stress levels through the roof. Campaigning on KICKSTARTER (a crowd funding site) to finish the film for my Canadian distributor has been one of the most eye opening experiences in my life. Asking people for money is the worst job in the world because it’s such an awkward conversation; I didn’t realize how awkward it could be until I was 30 days into the campaigning. It was my blood, sweat, and tears that had driven me this far and along with my wife we had been drained financially and emotionally. I would be ignored or dismissed politely when I asked some of the people I knew, all you can do is really smile because it’s not your place to tell people how to spend their money. Do you get surprised by people that you think would donate and don’t? – of course you do – but you don’t fault it; you just start re-evaluating relationships, which is the tough part. It’s hard not to go through this type of experience and not lose a friendship based on this weird test of support for one another. It’s not so much about the amount of money; it’s more about the actual support that you expect from certain friendships. We certainly had some highs and lows when it came to the support but I’m grateful to learn what I learned from this extraordinarily stressful and trying experience… With the campaign running 60 days and wrapping up this past February 21st something amazing happened. The support came in throughout the campaign but it was in the final hours that we noticed the ultimate difference. This dream became a reality as we crossed the 15k mark at midnight, a few hours before the deadline, and my wife – my partner – the love of my life - and I achieved our “must make” goal to keep the funds. It was a really satisfying moment, and finally all of the voices calmed and the dreams settled for the time being. All I can say is thank you; with so many things in this world to support, I feel blessed that people have responded and made this little independent passion project live to see another day. It feels like fate has something more in store for us… As we begin post production this month to finalize the music, the HD transfer, and digital clean up, this project about the power of music has hit the ‘7 years in the making’ mark this month. It was officially March 20th 2006 - my first Winter Music Conference in South Beach Miami - that I shot my first interview and put together a trailer to help encourage interest in the DOC. If you go to my first journal entry you can read and learn about the trials and tribulations of making a film from the beginning – It’s very fascinating as a filmmaker to read these early entries and see how the journey has played out. What’s crazy about the timeline with this journal entry is this is the same date 7 years later that I’m going to be going back to Winter Music Conference to do a private screening of this FINAL version of the film for EDM industry friends that helped me along the way. You don’t get a chance a lot of times in a year to get a group of faces together that know and respect each other and who have inspired this love letter to the EDM community and culture. The Global Groove Network is a story about finding your identity through music; specifically dance music. Having this energy of EDM personalities and doing the screening in an intimate art house surrounding – Everything feels like it’s coming full circle. The next steps of getting it out to a global audience as we move into the summer is where the journey is about to really begin but to share this moment with this kind of audience is fantastic! The BLOOD, TEARS, SWEAT, and SONGS have been something of a theme for this daily grind of getting people aware of a film about EDM culture and community. We have a large global community but support from the film and TV world is something that can be harder to find, especially when the culture still has an underground stamp on it even though the mainstream success and influence is very apparent in this day in age. We have a big hill to climb but this train continues down the boogie tracks, looking for its network members all over the world. With PR, film festivals, Blogger awareness, and word of mouth key to any successful film launch, money is something that becomes a huge factor. Not being able to afford PRESS and PR on a regular basis – I’m plugging us on social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, and Soundcloud, and putting in more hours on my off time to keep the Network out there; finding it’s audience. With our final post-production wrapping up in early April, the plan to bring the film to a theatre near you is in the works. Strategy is key so you don’t get lost in the shuffle and with so much time passing already – patience has become quite the virtue for myself in the GGN movie release. What I’m hoping to encourage people to do is spread the word about the film and it’s message. I’m going to continue this crusade to shape people’s identity in someway with showcasing great DJs from around the world, EDM culture both past and present, and turning up those killer beats that inspire a smile and potentially a booty shake on a local or global dance floor. If you’ve stumbled upon this network on line through my journals – the music and sneak peek videos we post for your consumption and enjoyment - and are curious about how you can see this documentary in 2013 then set this link to your favorites list on all your devices. I plan on updating my journals on a more regular basis, posting more music and podcasts available for free on my cloud, as we get closer to the release of the DOC. It’s an exciting time for the Global Groove Network (GGN) and as we continue to grow, I love the idea that this is something that will be a part of my life until I die. I love the music and appreciate in a new way as I age and participate on a dance floor here and there, all over the world. It’s not about going out every weekend; it hasn’t been about that in years… What seems to be my true bliss is working, exercising, walking the city with my I-POD on, and enjoying the producers and DJs I meet along the way when I do go out. This music inspires me on a daily basis and I’m glad I can share this adventure with you through my GGN JOURNALS and experiences. ‘Everyone is a DJ in their own Life’ … Thank you for letting me guide and expand your soundtrack through this mutual appreciation for music and EDM. Until we chat again... Put the needle on the record party peeps! Lots of Love – Courtney J www.groovetheglobe.com