March 29th
This entry has so many highlights but It’s hard to reflect on the positive right away because I’m dealing with a severe blow that was dropped on me yesterday. The blow that I speak of comes from a financial sense and has caused stress for me and my wife for the last 24 hours. During this time that I’ve been shooting this film I’ve been financing this project with my credit cards and any other spare cash I can muster from the random jobs I’ve been working. A bank loan was discussed with several banks over the course of the last six months to finish the project and we had come up with a great business plan to clear the debt which revolved around the party I was planning on throwing and filming for the movie in Toronto. It looked like everything was falling into place and we found a co-signer for our loan and had all the elements set up with the venue and promoters for the event. Then the bomb was dropped; the bank we had discussions with had misread our proposal and realized they couldn’t help us. The small business loan terms we had proposed had us paying them back in September with interest payments taken care of in the meantime. The plan was fool proof due to the experience, the venue, and the talent we have connected with our party… but due to this non traditional way of how we planned on executing our proposal, the bank changed their mind when they registered the information for a second time. I think what really bugs me about this is that we approached them in November and they didn’t fill us in on this roadblock. We had wasted so much time working in one direction of getting a co-signer when in the end it ended up being all for nothing… now I’m under the pressure gun to at least raise 60k in a month for deposits and try and keep the schedule intact for the party in September. It’s truly a disaster in many senses of the word but I guess all you can do is get angry and cry for a day then get back on the horse and try to make things happen. Life is too short to just give up and for all the amazing footage I’ve managed to put together as well as the relationships I’ve made over this year with the electronic community, I refuse to give up! Kick me when I’m down… I can take it. I just need to find this money!
Any suggestions – cjexposed@hotmail.com
Now to the highlights: Before this bomb was dropped I had just got back from WMC in South Beach. Comparing last years trip which was the beginning of this journey to where I’ve come to this point it truly is amazing. Last year I was able to just get some random interviews with people through a magazine I came down with but it was truly just a fly by the seat of your pants kind of trip that didn’t have enough structure to my liking. A year later I had a tight precise schedule that had me able to interview a bunch of artists under the OM records label as well as follow DJ Dan around for two days for a pilot spin off show I want to do when the documentary is finished. The Thursday started with me interviewing Mark Farina, Chuck Love, Andy Caudwell and the OM records family as they introduced the public to some of their new releases and threw a crazy party which we filmed at Y Ultra Lounge in downtown Miami. The interviews were great additions to the project as well as the performance footage from all the artists were incredible. One person in particular, Chuck Love, brought the vibe to a new height with his combination of instruments, singing, and mixing that I hadn’t had a chance to ever experience. OM records and their stable of artists are truly pioneers in the electronic scene and have brought to the fore front some of the best talent and creativity I’ve seen. I was truly blessed that they let me share in this event and spectacle. I’m excited at the thoughts of bringing Mark Farina, Chuck Love, DJ Heather, DJ Colette, and Andy Caudwell to my party and exposing both the old and new fans of the scene to their music.
The other highlight on this journey is another chapter to my DJ Dan saga… oh yes… this was truly a unique moment in my life. Friday through Sunday I followed extensively Dan and his entourage as we got a true inside look into what it’s like to be a d-jay during one of the busiest times of their annual schedule. The parties included a Pete Tong essential mix, the world famous AM only party in Miami, a showing at the outdoor festival known as ULTRA, and finally one of the closing parties at SHINE in South Beach. The pace was fast and enlightening as Dan opened up and really gave the audience a sense of how things work for a big name d-jay as he travels from party to party over a 48 hour period.
With over 20 hours of footage from this day to day experience filming, I promise that the audience will get some true insight on this artist and how things truly work from a DJ perspective. My problems that I’ve mentioned financially at the beginning of this entry have set my stress levels to an all time high but reflecting on all these successes I can’t give up. Life is about challenge and for all the people who have helped me along the way to this point I owe them just as much as I owe myself… this project is to important.
Stay tuned… Max Graham is on deck!
Check out the extended network at www.groovetheglobe.com
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